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.
Finding Harmony Across Centuries: Owain Park on The Gesualdo Six
Petra Sittig
34 minutes 50 seconds
2 months ago
Finding Harmony Across Centuries: Owain Park on The Gesualdo Six
In this episode of The Artist’s Voice, I had the pleasure of speaking with Owain Park, composer, conductor, and artistic director of the award-winning British vocal ensemble The Gesualdo Six.
The group was founded in 2014 in Cambridge for a performance of Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories and has since become one of the most exciting vocal ensembles of our time. Made up of some of the UK’s finest consort singers, The Gesualdo Six has earned international praise for its imaginative programmes and impeccable balance. Since those early student days, the ensemble has gone on to perform at major festivals across the UK, Europe, North America and Australia, making its Wigmore Hall debut in 2021 and appearing as part of the prestigious Deutschlandradio Debut Series. Along the way they have collaborated with the Brodsky Quartet, London Mozart Players, Luxmuralis, William Barton and Matilda Lloyd, constantly pushing the boundaries of what choral performance can be.
In our conversation, Owain reflects on how the group first came together while studying, united by a love of Renaissance polyphony, and how that passion continues to shape their journey. He speaks about the enduring power of Renaissance music and how social media has opened unexpected doors, bringing in younger audiences who may not have otherwise discovered this repertoire. We explore the profound impact of performing in historic churches, where the acoustics and architecture lend a sense of timelessness to the music, creating moments that feel both intimate and transcendent. Owain also shares how The Gesualdo Six has embraced immersive performance, combining their sound with visual elements and subtle staging to bring an almost theatrical dimension to their concerts. At the same time, they are deeply engaged with the music of today, commissioning and performing works from contemporary composers, ensuring that choral music remains a living, evolving art form.
This interview is not only the story of how six young singers came together to form an internationally celebrated ensemble, but also a reflection on the future of vocal music—how tradition and innovation meet, how old and new speak to each other, and how music continues to connect us across time.
https://www.owainpark.co.uk/posts/the-gesualdo-six/
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.
