DISCOVERY / Contemporary African Art
Zizipho Poswa makes a hairstyle monumental.
Songhai, Gao belongs to a body of work that translates the artistry of Black women’s hair into ceramic and bronze.
Published 1 November 2026 · WHV
A hairstyle can hold knowledge about identity, belonging and the skill of the person who makes it. Zizipho Poswa gives that temporary construction another kind of presence. In Songhai, Gao, the body of the sculpture and its projecting forms make hair’s architectural possibilities tangible.
An embodied artistic process
Southern Guild records the 2022 work in glazed earthenware and bronze, within the uBuhle boKhokho series. The gallery describes a process in which Poswa wore and documented elaborate hairstyles before translating their forms into sculpture. The work belongs to a particular artistic investigation, not a generic category of African decoration.
The WHV case is a contemporary artist giving lasting form to a living visual language. It brings authorship, cultural context and material decisions into the same conversation. Reading the work carefully is more rewarding than treating size, price or gallery visibility as a shortcut to importance.
Understand the work before the market
The gallery offers an enquiry route for this work. Confirm present availability, documentation, condition and installation requirements directly. Its scale and mixed materials make professional handling relevant. For a collector, the first task is to understand the work and its place in the artist’s practice before considering any market comparison.
From interest to experience
Explore in practice.
- Where to start
- Use Southern Guild’s record for the named work.
- Before deciding
- Discuss condition, dimensions and the installation requirements of ceramic and bronze.
- Plan for
- Specialist transport, placement and insurance for the individual sculpture.
Evidence & sources.
- Zizipho Poswa Songhai Gao: official documentation (opens source in a new tab)
- Southern Guild: Songhai, Gao, 2022 (opens source in a new tab)
What this reading does not establish
Work details and process are attributed to Southern Guild. WHV has not inspected the sculpture or established a market valuation.
Source checked 1 November 2026. WHV interpretation is distinct from the source’s account.
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Separate the interest of the object from the market headline attached to it.
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