UBhuku LukaMenzi is a project about Mkabayi KaJama, the undercelebrated Zulu princess who was the sister of King Senzangakhona KaJama and aunt to King Shaka Zulu. Through a combination of various visual metaphors, the project incorporates visual references that celebrate the Zulu people’s high regard for tradition. The work aims to celebrate the legacy of the nation the princess fought hard to help build. 

Mandisa Buthelezi, born in 1991 in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, is a Photographer and Cultural Producer from Umlazi, Durban. She began as a self-taught photographer, documenting rural and peri-urban life in KwaZulu-Natal. Her skills were refined at the Durban Centre for Photography, under the mentorship of renowned photographer Peter McKenzie. 

Academically accomplished, Buthelezi holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration (2021) and is pursuing a Master’s in Cultural Policy and Management (2023–) at the University of Witwatersrand. She also earned an Advanced Project Management Certificate (2018) from the University of Cape Town and a National Diploma in Construction Management and Quantity Surveying (2011) from Durban University of Technology.

Her photography captures the essence of African culture, exploring themes of identity, spirituality, and tradition. By documenting and cataloguing cultural narratives, her work bridges the past and present, using both colour and black-and-white imagery to spark dialogue on cultural preservation and progression.

UBhuku LukaMenzi is printed with archival inks on Fine Art Paper with a matte finish.

Image courtesy of the artist. Cr. Andile Buka for iQhawe Magazine.