Lessons From The Beetle With Four Eyes

“If someone produces artwork in response to a set of artist instructions, are they also an artist?”

YOKO ONO

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Over the past two decades, poet and artist Sabelo Soko has created a unique body of work including short films, video installations and poetry performances. A central element of his poetic and political art is the exploration of how languages coalesce and the societal constraints associated with this intermingling of different strains of expression.

Spin VENEK: Lessons From Imfundamakhwela is one such new project that uses isiZulu parables translated through a colonial language; isiZulu being a language which in itself is full of mystery and mastery of expressing realities that often go beyond words.

Language is becoming an everyday method for bending reality in any realm defined by the exchange of information, and when two languages dance to formulate each other’s perspectives, translation becomes an important project in connecting narratives from varied environments, preserving their intrinsic truths.

And Spin Venek Manual explores how these two languages can ignite inner and spiritual energies, through repetitive affirmations and mantras formed to fuel a transformation of personal realities of people who might otherwise need counselling and psychological support.

By flipping, contrasting, contradicting, reforming language at its idioms and metaphors, and crafting a vernacular that is constantly flying over the pond of speech, the project becomes decolonial and important regarding how isiZulu is translated but also to the structural relations of the language to other languages.

And while he is “learning the whistles that climb the skies”, the manual is moving into new registers and finer distinctions that Sabelo Soko finds traceable in the Zulu language. 

Reweaving it with other traditional stories, the manual is a tool of unlocking collective joys and trauma, especially when used in learning environments, where interactive exchange of knowledge and experiences is essential for personal growth.

It is then through language that we perceive similarities and differences, where we voice concerns and mysteries that mystify us, while being attentive to the metaphor of the Whirligig Beetle and its ability to use four eyes to perceive the multifacetedness of oneself and others, and the environments within which these selves evolve and thrive.

The project is dedicated to the knowledge emerging from the use of language as a psychotherapeutic tool, a vocality that is emitted by bodies, even when at times bodies feel voiceless.

Beneath language’s failures lies history and personal memories, there is the mantra that one should “DALA what you must”, which simply gives agency to each individual to partake in the creation of a larger whole and a collective-self.

We also see how Sabelo Soko translates linguistic tropes and limericks from the isiZulu language into visual terms to which English speakers are accustomed.

Through sheer modesty, Sabelo Soko often refers to himself as a novice in the art of using language, which is far from the truth, as he has proven himself an indelible linguist, whose characteristic isZulu Poetry has become iconic as a celebration of African Languages.

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And undeniably, the idea of "a manual" is quite intriguing in that it’s commonly compiled as an instructional and rigid set of codes and parameters; no room for improvisation of alterations. 

Yet, the SPIN VENEK Manual is different in that the instructions themselves are mere guidelines for a self-explorative journey (Dala What You Must) that immerses the reader in individualised interpretations, where one is called upon to be the translator of their own versions of what they are reading.

Divided into four chapters, the importance of the work lies in its transformation of language into an interplay of motivational solicitations and challenges; nudging the reader towards mythical interpretations of the natural world into varied daily parables and idioms for spiritual empowerment.

And to use this manual as a tool of social reconstructive surgery, through facilitated workshops and engagements that delve into minds and aspirations of people, must pose its own challenges. It is therefore insightful when Sabelo Soko outlines the aim of the manual as a type of glue essential for cultivating a sense of social cohesion in a country still haunted by colonialism, segregation and apartheid.

Lessons on “being present”, the concept of self awareness being exercised as the first preamble prior to acknowledging one’s awareness of others. These greetings are all that announce one’s “being”, “presence” and engendering their visibility.

Manuals instruct, safeguarding the implementation of tasks which are essentials for orderly and safe operations, and viewing of the human psyche as an operational appendage that require precise instruction for its awakening, enlightenment and self-discovery, the Spin Venek Manual is a seamless blueprint for psychoanalytic power of language.

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It is uncanny that a whistle is deemed a form of language, a commutative tool that is used to inform others of one’s presence. The whistle, which eludes all novice herders, is also a lesson about how much of human behaviour is drawn from the natural world.

But as it is often unlikely to hear a woman whistle, the tale of Ntokazi with her ability to whistle at her first go, provides a theme that language is maternal. 

And the mystic that is created by her ability to allows the beetle to transform her tongue, also symbolises a form of ingestion as though language is not only expelled from the mouth but also imbibed.

The Praise Poem that transpires due to her exorbitant display also speak volumes about the necessity for “naming oneself” in the presence of others, and this act is instrumental in obtaining the aim of this manual - raising an awareness of self through the eyes of others.

Knowledge of self leads to an awareness of one’s worth, as detailed in the subsequent chapters of this manual, and as it addresses transitions within the self, it urges readers to contend with anonymity. 

So, with numerous exercises that are designed to introduce participants to one another, the manual encourages a variety of activities that trigger self-actualisation, investment in others without fear, and as exemplified by the vulnerable beetle, it provides lessons on agility during pleasant and unpleasant situations.

The straight-forward jargon, the sentences which could be memories by a ten year old, the manual comes up with ways that address toxic masculinity and misogyny, guiding riders towards self-made solutions that would transform individuals and therefore the collective. 

As a piece of literary art, SPIN VENEK MANUAL: Lessons From Imfundamakhwela comes from a long tradition of using artistic practices to instruct, inspire and accurately address complex social systems, memories and interactions. And to a degree, it delves within the new mind inundated with technological advances that often cloud the mind with illusory ideas of self and other.

The use of poetry and performance arts harbours limitless potential to enrich lives of children and young people, and through the manual's creative guides, a form of developmental promotion of cognitive, personal and social skills, in addition to the increase in motivation, confidence and self-esteem are elevated. This manual demonstrates just how the creative arts can be used to raise the standards of teaching and learning in any social context.

This specific edition is graphically comprised of instructive examples to copy such as those found in manuals for drawing or painting; but the theatricality of the activities is another element which distinguishes Sabelo Soko’s work from many art manuals. 

Undeniably, artists often find themselves having to compromise their art and their life because they were not taught accurate up-to-date methods for dealing with life and other situations, but this edition provides a formula where the instructed becomes the artist expressing and sculpting their unique vision of themselves.

(Image Provided By The Artist)

And as a form of “art pedagogy”, Sabelo Soko will be facilitating sessions that unpack the manual on the 16th of November 2024 in Soweto; where facilitated engagement with the instructive and educational elements of the manual will take place.

These workshops are geared to be playgrounds and a havens for encounters and experimentation on alternative ideas of economic, artistic and literary self-emancipation within black communities.

The poetry performances, sketches and spontaneous dramaturgy that will characterise the sessions are also an important aspect augmenting the established criteria of creativity, experimentation, and innovation.

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