Interview with Naretha Pretorius

Robyn Cook speaks to Naretha Pretorius about her current show at artSpace Durban, 'Onthaal Onthul'.

Robyn Cook: Hi Naretha. Thanks for taking the time out to chat to me. Perhaps as a starting point to this conversation you could take us through the title of the show, 'Onthaal Onthul', 'onthaal' means 'formal reception', and 'onthul' means to 'reveal'‚ - the words seem to be playing a tug of war with each other?

Naretha Pretorius: They do in some way, 'onthaal' can be an informal gathering of friends, however this 'onthaal' refers to the more formal function governed by etiquette.  The main text of the exhibition is focused on notions of etiquette; good manners, good serving etiquette, social conduct and so forth.  The subtext is the 'reveal' of gender inequalities within this context, framed specifically in the Afrikaner Calvinist context where the behaviour of women were strictly prescribed, thus with the notion of 'serving' and 'service' emerging.  'Onthaal Onthul' is a personal celebration and commemoration as well as a social critique on my personal history, lived experience and social context.

RC: I was struck by the methodological approach to your work. On the surface it appears very much a 'revealing' a sort of intimate portrait of your past growing up in an 'Afrikaans Calvinist' community. However, when we were chatting earlier about the process of auto-ethnography, the work seems a less subjective and more critical narrative? Do you agree?

NP: Like any ethnography, an auto-ethnography requires critical engagement with the ethnic group being studied, which requires a form of objectivity (distance) as well as subjectivity (own experience).  My family and my community along with myself became the ethnic group, and it was through critical observation, participation, awareness and engagement with the self and 'the other' that I became aware of the beliefs, values, behaviour and social conduct that underpinned the Afrikaner Calvinistic culture.  The challenge with any form of self-study, is to remove yourself from what you know, in order to re-think and re-construct your understanding, but at the same time it requires an intense investigation and moving very close to what you (possibly already) know.  My study can be described as a 'journey of awareness' as the main aim is to develop an awareness of what you already know, but did not know that you knew it. With awareness, comes transformation and understanding. It was this 'new found' understanding that I exhibited and wanted to open for public debate and engagement.   It is thus a personal and intimate process, but the outcome is made for public engagement, challenging the level of personal intent vs social concern and contribution.  The personal narrative thus becomes part of a social narrative, contributing to our knowledge of the socio-political 'master' narrative.

RC: 'Ethnography' as a scientific study of the 'other' is often treated with a degree of scepticism in terms of its ethical positioning. Is there a degree of objectification within the process of auto-ethnography? 

NP:  I believe that objectification can only really happen if you did not critically engage in the study, and if you did not conduct it with absolute honesty.  I believe that auto-ethnography has a sense of authenticity to it, and a level of integrity to the research, if done 'correctly'.  De Lange and Grossi state that the self in a self-study becomes the 'researcher, the research and as the researched', Marcel Jousse complements this notion by saying that the self becomes a 'laboratory of awareness'.  In a self-study you are the 'subject' and your own socio-political and cultural framework becomes the ethnography, and if a self-study is done with honesty, then it is done 'correctly'.  It is this level of honesty that produces authentic research and through critical self-awareness and reflection that it is done with integrity.  To ensure your work is done 'correctly', also means that you should be willing to make your work public, to allow for public engagement and to be scrutinised.  An auto-ethnography requires critical analyses and in many ways scientific analyses such as action research and other systematic methodologies for analyses.  Different from ethnography, auto-ethnography means that you are also an insider, and thus rely on your lived experience as well as listening, observing and participating in the cultural activities, but this time with a researcher lens on.  Doing this kind of research, takes courage, as you have to be honest, and to be honest can sometimes be quite painful and revealing.  Self-study requires a level of inclusionality and all of this avoids it from becoming objectified.

RC: What I found very interesting about your show was that it appears as a definite process. There is a literal shift in medium, as well as a subtler thematic shift from a 'sweet' nostalgia to a darker shadow of the same reminiscence. Did you set out to work this way?

NP: Yes, a good observation Robyn!  I deliberately wanted to illustrate the shift and relationship between the bittersweet memories and the progress from nostalgia to revelation. The medium moves from 'sweet' to 'considerate', as much as the narrative does the same.  The exhibition starts with childhood nostalgia, longing for times gone by, remembering my family and those that have passed away.  The medium for this was equally 'innocent' and unchallenged.  This narrative is interrupted by the title 'Onthaal Onthul' and invites the audience into the critical narrative and the formal structure of what an 'onthaal' entails: doilies, teaspoons, teacups all neatly aligned and perfectly placed and presented, revealing a cultural framework that was governed by strict conservative beliefs.  There is a sense of perfection, neatness, and repetition that conveys conformation and tradition.  The work becomes more conceptual with more complex messages and subtexts than what the childhood section was, it moved from being reminiscent to work delivering commentary.  The 'darker shadow' delivers critical comments on power relations such as gender inequality and racial inequalities within institutional or social structures (such as the church and marriage).  

RC: The materiality of your sculptural work seems to subvert the original function of some of the objects depicted, so doilies become rock hard, silver teaspoons beautiful but functionless and so on. The objects become almost a twisted alter-ego of their initial purpose?  

NP: I wanted to point out the frivolousness of the objects especially within an etiquette framework, yet I wanted to move away from its original function, and provide it with a new one.  The doily series refer to packs of mass produced paper doilies, here they become a new product of mass production; casts of doilies that can be reproduced. Although the image engraved into it remains unique, like the individual, the doily on the other hand creates the cultural framework of tradition, indoctrination and conformation, thus a product of mass production.  The dress code and social conduct as portrayed in these doilies, suggest the imprint of tradition and social conform.  The teaspoons are also casts that are reproduced, they are in this case pointing out how we duplicate or replicate tradition.  There are dozens of teaspoons neatly fitting within a wooden box (tray), and the wooden box (trays) are themselves repeated, suggesting a sense of tradition passed on from one generation to another.  Although as an object beautiful, they are just a replica of the one next to it.  The work plays with the idea of serve/service/servant/servitude and comments on the role of the women within their families, community, congregation and Afrikaner Calvinistic society.  

RC: I thought the positioning of the show was quite interesting with Welcome Danca's 'The History of Umkhonto we Sizwe: Told Through Artistic Expression' opposite your space. Was this a deliberate curatorial decision? How do you think the works played off of each other?

NP: It was coincidental and not a planned conversation.  I think it was a good coincidence; it presents two very different narratives with a similar intention of self-reflection and social commentary.