Foregrounding indigenous knowledge in artistic practice | Mbali Dhlamini | TEDxJohannesburg Salon

In her talk, Mbali Dhlamini traces the arc of artistic obsession: the pursuit of a single plant species - Indigofera. This plant is not merely a material resource for her practice but the object of an enduring fixation that both drives and sustains her creative work; work that uses art to preserve indigenous knowledge and systems, and expand conversations. Her account situates obsession within an artistic research framework as a deliberate, focused enquiry that blurs the line between discovery and compulsion. Dhlamini performs visual, tactile and discursive investigations into current indigenous cultural practices. Working to maintain a state of unlearning and relearning, Dhlamini's process recognises language as a medium of understanding and as a repository of knowledge. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx