Crocodile eating goat – (Noria Muelwa Mabasa) ◄ Previous Next ►

Artist: Noria Muelwa Mabasa

Date: 2006

Size: 35 cm

Museum: University of Pretoria Museums (Pretoria, South Africa)

Technique: Sculpture

A carved wooden sculpture created in 2006 titled, Crocodile eating goat by Noria Mabasa (b.1938) . The University of Pretoria purchased the work directly from the artist in 2011. The image of a crocodile eating a goat is not a unfamiliar sight in the Limpopo Province of South Africa where several rivers, especially on the borders and flowing into natural areas like the Kruger National Park still have an abundance of these fierce and deadly creatures. Short Biography: Noria Mabasa, was born on 10 May 1938 in Xigalo in South Africa. In 1974, Mabasa started to create clay figures known as Domba figurines, traditional initiation clay figurines after having a dream. She felt a need to continue her clay work until 1983 when she met the sculptor Nelson Makhuba who inspired her to start sculpting in wood for a living. Mabasa only received formal schooling for one year and is a self taught artist. Her skill made her the first black woman, and the only Venda woman in South Africa, to become a famous wood carver. She also began to create works which followed more contemporary themes. Her figures of traditional ceremonies, women with babies, and those that capture daily life around her reflect profound expressiveness and mastering of her craft. She conveys the experience of apartheid from a Venda women’s perspective focusing in the exploration of her origins, displacement, race, and sex. Her work contemplates the feeling of social rejection, censure, and disapproval that comes with diverging from the established guidelines of accepted and expected behaviour. Although she had no formal art training, Mabasa’s natural artistic talent manifests extreme sensitivity. This has given her national and international recognition. In 1985, she was introduced to Ditike – The Craft House of Venda, a project of the Venda Development Corporation which recognized her ability, and began promoting her work.