The house that raised me and the man that lives in it
by Amukelani Shihangule

University of Cape Town, South Africa
Graduation year: 2022

portfolio shortlisted call 'BLURRING THE LINES 2022', 2022

Shihangule Amukelani The house that raised me and the man that lives in it. They are the link to our history with the mission that was left in ruins. He kept her memory in a locked red trunk. She used to be a nurse in the hospital that used to be, in the mission that was left in ruins. He grew up in that mission, The Shiluvane Swiss mission station. He got his education there. They taught him to value knowledge and pass it on. He used to be a teacher. The church is what remains, everything has gone to ruins The man and His house are a reminder of our history and the mission. It used to be more than just the church. It was a community in which my family was created. My family has its known history rooted with the Swiss Missionary works in South Africa. My great, great grandfather Viki migrated with the missionary's expansion project from their Valdesia Mission station to Shiluvani where they formed the Shiluvani mission Station. One of his children Bethuel who leads to my lineage bought a piece of land in the area with the help of the church. This piece of land known as the Sedan KT18 potion 11 is still in my family and is now under the executive of my grandfather, the eldest living member of our family. We investigate his house in this selected body of work which forms part of a bigger book that explores the traces of the mission in the objects and memories kept in his house. He was the last of our generations that grew up on the mission, all his children and grandchildren grew up on the farm. When I started investigating our history, he and his house were a big source of information and material on the subject and going into his house with all this information altered the way I looked at everything and influenced what and how I photographed the space. The images became a window to stories, memories, moments and histories that I am learning about my family and myself.


share this page