In this interview I’m speaking with South African sculptor and installation artist Snelihle Maphumulo, an extraordinary young creative whose work is deeply rooted in both her Zulu heritage and her Christian faith.
Snelihle was born and raised in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, and she studied Fine Art, Sculpture, and Visual Culture at Rhodes University. What makes her work so unique is the material she chooses to work with: sheep hide.
In Zulu tradition, hide carries cultural significance—it's connected to ceremonies, identity, and ancestral heritage. But for Snelihle, the sheep hide also has a powerful spiritual meaning. It represents the biblical idea of God as the Shepherd and humanity as the sheep under His care.
Through her sculptures and installations, she uses the hide to express the themes of protection, guidance, and faith. Her artworks often create quiet, contemplative spaces that invite you to reflect on the relationship between the physical material and the spiritual symbolism behind it.
What I love about her practice is how she brings together two worlds—her cultural roots and her personal Christian belief—without separating them. Instead, she weaves them into a conversation, showing how tradition and faith can coexist and inform each other in beautiful and unexpected ways.
In this interview, Snelihle shares how she transforms this traditional material into a message of hope, vulnerability, and divine connection. Her work is not just about sculpture—it’s about storytelling, identity, and the deep relationship between culture and spirituality.
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In this interview I’m speaking with South African sculptor and installation artist Snelihle Maphumulo, an extraordinary young creative whose work is deeply rooted in both her Zulu heritage and her Christian faith.
Snelihle was born and raised in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, and she studied Fine Art, Sculpture, and Visual Culture at Rhodes University. What makes her work so unique is the material she chooses to work with: sheep hide.
In Zulu tradition, hide carries cultural significance—it's connected to ceremonies, identity, and ancestral heritage. But for Snelihle, the sheep hide also has a powerful spiritual meaning. It represents the biblical idea of God as the Shepherd and humanity as the sheep under His care.
Through her sculptures and installations, she uses the hide to express the themes of protection, guidance, and faith. Her artworks often create quiet, contemplative spaces that invite you to reflect on the relationship between the physical material and the spiritual symbolism behind it.
What I love about her practice is how she brings together two worlds—her cultural roots and her personal Christian belief—without separating them. Instead, she weaves them into a conversation, showing how tradition and faith can coexist and inform each other in beautiful and unexpected ways.
In this interview, Snelihle shares how she transforms this traditional material into a message of hope, vulnerability, and divine connection. Her work is not just about sculpture—it’s about storytelling, identity, and the deep relationship between culture and spirituality.
Dorothy Di Stefano | The Intersection of Art, Story, and Technology
Petra Sittig
53 minutes 47 seconds
3 months ago
Dorothy Di Stefano | The Intersection of Art, Story, and Technology
This episode features Dorothy Di Stefano, Founder and Director of Molten Immersive Art, an international collective known for creating large-scale, multi-sensory art experiences. Her projects span the globe — including the landmark Noor Riyadh in Saudi Arabia — and she is recognised as a leading figure in shaping how audiences encounter art in new and unexpected ways.
Dorothy’s journey into this field grew from a lifelong love of music, beauty, and curiosity about the world. That passion has evolved into a career where she brings together art, technology, and storytelling to design experiences that engage every sense — sight, sound, touch, and space — drawing people into a deeper relationship with creativity.
She highlights why it is essential to keep the artist’s perspective at the core of these projects. For Dorothy, it is not just about creating a spectacle, but about honouring the vision behind the work and ensuring that audiences connect with the authenticity of the artist’s message.
In our conversation, Dorothy also describes how this new form of art extends far beyond traditional formats. Instead of simply looking at a painting or sculpture, audiences are invited into an environment where the physical and the emotional come together. In her words, it’s art that can stay with you long after you’ve left the space — because it surrounds you, moves you, and becomes part of your memory.
Petra Sittig
In this interview I’m speaking with South African sculptor and installation artist Snelihle Maphumulo, an extraordinary young creative whose work is deeply rooted in both her Zulu heritage and her Christian faith.
Snelihle was born and raised in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, and she studied Fine Art, Sculpture, and Visual Culture at Rhodes University. What makes her work so unique is the material she chooses to work with: sheep hide.
In Zulu tradition, hide carries cultural significance—it's connected to ceremonies, identity, and ancestral heritage. But for Snelihle, the sheep hide also has a powerful spiritual meaning. It represents the biblical idea of God as the Shepherd and humanity as the sheep under His care.
Through her sculptures and installations, she uses the hide to express the themes of protection, guidance, and faith. Her artworks often create quiet, contemplative spaces that invite you to reflect on the relationship between the physical material and the spiritual symbolism behind it.
What I love about her practice is how she brings together two worlds—her cultural roots and her personal Christian belief—without separating them. Instead, she weaves them into a conversation, showing how tradition and faith can coexist and inform each other in beautiful and unexpected ways.
In this interview, Snelihle shares how she transforms this traditional material into a message of hope, vulnerability, and divine connection. Her work is not just about sculpture—it’s about storytelling, identity, and the deep relationship between culture and spirituality.
