Nine years ago, this artist stepped onto a plinth in a black body suit and stiletto heels, her arms adorned with wings fashioned out of wood, velvet, and hair.
Nine years ago, Sethembile Msezane stepped on top of a plinth, wearing a black body suit and stiletto heels, her arms adorned with wings she fashioned out of wood, velvet, and hair. Behind her, a statue of a man can be seen being lifted in the air. “Chapungu — The Day Rhodes Fell” has since become an iconic photograph, capturing the spirit of the #RhodesMustFall movement which led to the removal of 19th century colonist Cecil Rhodes’ statue at the University of Cape Town.
“I was scared because what if the police come and take me away, while this very important historical occasion is happening? What would happen to me, having been taken away wearing a leotard and some stilettos? Would I be pushed over? Could I potentially hurt myself or die?” Afterwards, she was shaking. Her limbs were tired, her feet painful and her vision blurred. “All I wanted were my clothes,” she says, of stepping off the plinth. “I just wanted to go home and take a bath.