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Noria Mabasa

Biography

Noria Muelwa Mabasa, born in 1938 in Shigalo, South Africa, is a prominent Venda artist specializing in ceramic and wood sculpture. Despite limited formal education, Mabasa was inspired by recurring dreams of an old woman to delve into traditional crafts, starting with clay figures. In 1976, she transitioned to wood carving, becoming the first Tsonga woman to do so. Mabasa gained recognition in the 1980s for her naturalistic ceramic figures, often painted with enamel. Her current work seamlessly blends functionality with figurative elements, with some pieces taking on female forms or featuring faces. Mabasa’s exceptional artistry has earned her numerous national and international awards, including the 2002 Silver category of the Order of the Baobab.

News / Ranking / Titbits / Awards

Her wooden sculpture named The Flood (1994) took her nine months to create. The entire sculpture is made out of a fig tree trunk. She wanted to depict the devastation of floods on local villages. It is currently displayed in the foyer of the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg; Her famous work of The Drum of Thunder follows the story of the Singo people and their mystical drum. It sold for 150,000 South African Rand (8,598.66 USD) during an auction in 2017; Union Buildings (1999) is another of her famous works.

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