In her first solo exhibition at Southern Guild Gallery, Usha Seejarim interrogates the domestic sphere as a site of servitude, subversion and resilience through an intersectional lens. ‘Unfolding Servitude sees found objects emblematic of domestic labour – such as clothes pegs, ironing soleplates, brooms and serving trays – repurposed and reframed to explore themes of oppression and agency in relation to gender, race and class.
In the repetitive acts of assembling, Seejarim evokes the relentless, cyclical nature of domestic labour – traditionally gendered as women’s work. She deliberately reconfigures these items to highlight the interplay between the materials’ original function and the denial of their utilitarianism through art-making, transforming symbols of domesticity and containment into objects of liberation and ambiguity. Instruments of cleaning, folding, holding, washing, pressing and smoothing become statements of resistance and individuality.
Usha Seejarim states: “At the heart of my exploration is the complex relationship between servitude and sexuality. Domestic labour carries with it an inherent tension between obligation and identity. The transformation of household objects into sculptural forms invites viewers to reflect on societal expectations that confine and define roles tied to care-giving and service.”
Seejarim asserts the centrality of the feminine experience through the articulation of vulvic forms, confronting societal taboos around the female body while reclaiming its power. Receptacles, nest-like objects and ovoid shapes predominate, poised between containment and constriction. A wall-based work reaching two and a half metres high and titled Contours of Isolation, layers densely packed rows of reclaimed iron sole plates into a sharply tapered ellipse – an armoured portal inviting both passage and defence.
Seejarim’s sculptures pivot on their references to the body: tongue-like forms extend downwards invoking the Goddess Kali, a forest of phalluses rise from a decorative serving tray, sheaths of conjoined wooden clothes pegs part and close in fleshy contours. In reforming domestic objects in this way, the artist points to the intimate connections between physicality and the structures of power that shape lived experiences. The works speak to the intersections of vulnerability and strength, subordination and defiance, intimacy and universality.
Seejarim’s abstraction of these objects – negating their intended purpose to become vessels of collective memory – is an act of liberation, not only for the physical things themselves, but also for the location of women in relation to capitalist consumption. ‘Unfolding Servitude’ gives voice to invisible labour while simultaneously critiquing the systems that advocate these roles. The exhibition opened on the 13th of March and will run until the 15th of May 2025 at Southern Guild Gallery Cape Town.
