Qualifying Statement

Maphupho Fezeka - Dreams become true (Swahili)

Running time: 3min 11 Secs. 

This artefact brings the journey of my practice to life through expressive dance. It cycles through coming back to basics, the shedding of what no longer serves, accepting and dealing with isolation, and ultimately finding the freedom and courage to manifest something better.

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As a piece of music, Maphupo Fezzekha speaks of basic needs and of daring to dream bravely so that dreams may become a reality. 

The single repeated line ‘to have a house of my own, to have a car of my own,’ invokes my reality as an artist in 2025. It also acknowledges the lack of space and resources artists face as the industry transforms during this poly crisis. 

The white studio space instills a tangible yet figurative presence of ‘whiteness’ that can be interpreted in different ways.  My highlighted Blackness within it contains the possibility of continually connecting to higher aspirations and defiantly taking others with me, echoing McKittrick's thoughts on layering time and space to make Black women more visible. (McKittrick, 2006, p4)

Community and the physical presence of others, although invited and implied as being in the room and watching, is not visible, underlining the necessity to seek it out for progress. (1:33-1:49)

A leap of faith is referenced at 1:55.

My Mauritian heritage and past knowledge is referenced through the use of colourful paréo nap-sacks in the opening shots, as well as a fluidity throughout the hands and hips and the eventual release into a fun style representing coming through isolation and into joy. (2:17-2:26)

The presence of Yoruban deities Oya & Obatala are subtly conveyed through the ritual movements associated with them in traditional dances which call them forth. Whilst Obatala sweeps the path ahead for inclusion, (1:58-2:07) , Oya’s movements represent the fierceness required to stay the course. (2:10-2:19)

A strong reference is also made to ‘blood memories’ and ancestry through aesthetic choices reminiscent of Alvin Aileys, ‘I been buked' (Revelations, 1960, Accessed Online 18 NOV 2025)  and a symbolic, ‘painting of the mountain and having it’ (Salami, 2025, p207) is found in grand plié position (2:27). Its fullness, attempted several times, is then finally earned. 

The “eyin ojú" (egg of the eye) / the "ojú ọkàn" (mind's eye), (Adepoju, University of Florida, 2025) is referenced through the motif of looking upwards towards the future. The carving out of new spaces with intentionality is represented by the use of candles and visualisations, bringing the viewer back to the title of the artefact  itself and emphasising the message in the closing line of verse. (2:51-End).

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Bibliography

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Adepoju, O. University of Florida (n.d) Adapting Yoruba Epistemology in Educational Theory and Practice in Nigeria. Available at: https://africa.ufl.edu/adapting-yoruba-epistemology-in-educational-theory-and-practice-in-nigeria (Accessed: 18 November 2025). 

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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (n.d.) I Been Buked, Revelations. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDXerubF4I4 (Accessed: 18 November 2025)​

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Katherine McKittrick (2006) I Lost an Arm on My Last Trip Home: Black Geographies. In: Demonic Grounds: Black Women and the Cartographies of Struggle. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 1–2.

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Salami, M. (2025), Can Feminism Be African? A Most Paradoxical Question. London: HarperCollins Publishers UK, Pg 207. 

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