Pippa Hetherington

Cuttings 1820 - 2020

‘Cuttings 1820 - 2020’ is constructed around themes of family, cultural memory, displacement and loss, exploring the difficulty of disentangling our shared histories. Textiles, clothing and photographic portraiture are placed in conversation with each other, in the process forging new identities and configurations. Pivoting on the relationship between female descendants of the Eastern Cape Xhosa nation and of the 1820 British Settlers in South Africa, this collaborative exhibition with the Keiskamma Art Project incorporates dressmaking, embroidery, assemblage, video and photography. In the process it also connects us to the feminine, and particularly to the strong female identities so often neglected in historical storytelling.  The sensuous fabrics create a tapestry of new relationships, bringing us closer to what we have lost, but also to what can be created anew, binding us simultaneously to the past, present and unfolding future of our country. 

Words by Pippa Hetherington

About Pippa Hetherington

Pippa Hetherington obtained a Masters in Fine Art through the International Center of Photography-Bard College, New York, USA. Her work invites questions around family, history, cultural identity and memory. Working with photography, video documentary and textiles, she explores untold stories of loss and remembrance. She is co-founder of Behind the Faces, a pan-African women’s storytelling project, launched at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, in 2013. Her work has been published in international and national publications. In 2012 she established an online photographic archive, available through Africa Media Online. She has been represented in solo and group exhibitions in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Durban, Port Elizabeth (South Africa); London (UK); Dublin (Ireland); New York City and Washington, DC (USA).