Remofiloe Nomandla Mayisela b. 1994. A lens-based artist from Johannesburg, South Africa. She is a student of Through The Lens Collective and a graduate of Market Photo Workshop. Her work is primarily self portraiture and has a great performative element. Mayisela`s imagery explores aspects of women's lives, through her own experience of breaking social and political sexual taboos. 

Lip Service emanates from exploring the notion behind the infamous phrase "The way to man's heart is through his stomach".  A saying still so prevalent in a world where women are supposedly liberated. 

Throughout the years, women have been assigned to spaces designated to them by a cultural system that promotes patriarchy. These spaces are often confined to a home and the most prominent space we are assigned to occupy is the kitchen.

Women continue to function as commodity fetish within well-established consumer culture, an experience not limited by nationality and geography. Comparing women to food is a very popular rhetorical device, and putting women on the same platform as food makes them look equal. Easy to get and enjoy.

The traditional outfit I wear is a blend of western and local South African household attire, propagating the female body as both colonial and cultural proprietary.

In an institutional union like marriage, as a young modern-day *makoti, based on my experience, I began questioning the strong cultural patriarchal assigning of women to kitchens and their bodies for consumption.

*A commonly used cultural term in South Africa, referring to a bride or daughter-in-law

My experience at TTLC has been a re-awakening experience. Through the guidance of Michelle H and Michelle L, I managed to return to my photography practice. Like anything it was a real challenge to get back into it, I had my doubts and tons of insecurities but spending my year partaking in the Advanced Program helped me shake off those doubts and actually begin to enjoy and understand what I was meant to do from the get-go which is PHOTOGRAPHY! Being able to rediscover me and my photography has been the best part of being a part of this course. And that would not have been possible without the assistance of the dynamic duo MH+ ML