The emergence of an ecofeminist consciousness in South Africa: examining the human/nature relationship in art

Abstract

This article attempts to identify female artists in South Africa whose interest in environmental issues is shaped by an underlying feminine perspective, culminating in artworks which fall (intentionally or unintentionally) within the ecofeminist paradigm. During the past decade, the term 'ecofeminism' has become increasingly loaded with various interpretations, as the discourse on feminism, the effects of patriarchy, ecology and the human/nature relationship grew more and more complex. Within the limitations of this article the author does not wish to join the complex and hectic buzz of international debates on gender issues, and is therefore highly cautious of categorization: it is not assumed that a female artist whose work engages with the human/nature relationship could naturally be classified as an ecofeminist. The article does, however, attempt to illustrate that what can be termed as an 'ecofeminist consciousness' forms an integral part of these female artists' creative premise. The emergence of feminism, let alone ecofeminism, in South Africa has been inhibited by decades of racial and socio-political debates. Marion Arnold ( 1996: 131), in her book on South African women and art explains: