Title: They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To
Medium: Digital print on cotton rag matte paper
Date: 2008
Unframed: 90cm x 60cm
Framed: 105cm x 75cm
Sibande’s work explores identity within post-apartheid South Africa through using the stereotypical representation of the black female body. She tells the story of her alter-ego Sophie, who finds refuge in daydreams to escape the harsh realities of life as a domestic worker. Mary (Tyilo 2021:1) explains: “I wanted to pay homage to the women in my family who were all maids. When you look at the history of South Africa, women didn’t have a choice. They were discriminated against, firstly because they were women, and secondly because they were black… Sophie is inspired by my great-grandmother… Her masters couldn’t be bothered to learn her African names, so they just called her ‘Elsie’. During apartheid, it was compulsory for a black child to have a Christian name, hence my name, ‘Mary’. ‘Sophie’ was born from this law, as a way for me to stop this story from going stale.”
The hand sewn clothing in Sibande’s work is central to her creative expression. Through the dress the domestic worker appears to have transcended her station through transforming her servant uniform to that of a colonial dress worn by the mistress. The dress also keeps the character, Sophie, locked into the Madam/slave dichotomy. It only represents a dream of what could have been but not reality. For this reason, Mary’s eyes are always closed in her performances. It represents this constant dream state.
