‘Between Home and Wisdom’ is a photographic project by Italian photographer Tommaso Fiscaletti featuring Xhosa women living in Dunoon, a township situated in Cape Town. Tommaso, who moved to South Africa in 2013, explains his work as stemming from the will to “tell the Man about existential subjects such as family relationships, the memory and the connection with the nature.” For this project he was inspired by the lives of a group of urban Xhosa artisans, many of who are also practicing sangomas in their community.
The project aims to capture the duality between the demanding solitary practice of being a sangoma and their bigger role within the community as women. His relationship with these women has enabled him to catch an intimate glimpse into hidden aspects of their lives as healers; a community guided by ancestors, rituals, traditional medicine and magic.
Tomasso is currently looking for funding in order to share this photographic series of powerful Xhosa women through an exhibition that will be held in Cape Town, and a book that will capsulate their lives forever. A percentage of the sales of the photos will go to the community of the township of Dunoon.
We previously featured another of Tommaso’s projects, “I couldn’t be anything else” – a collection of portraits of young African men who have travelled from countries like DRC, Uganda and Ruanda to Cape Town in hopes of becoming successful musicians.
Find more at www.tommasofiscaletti.com.
