South African Journal of Art History Article. Tectonic Agency in Africa: Reinvigorating collective making through repair

Journal Article. SITUATED KNOWLEDGE. Digital Download.

Primary authorship and research by Dr. Michael Louw, University of Cape Town. Profile visible here: http://www.apg.uct.ac.za/apg/mike-louw

Originally published in Volume 36, number 2 of the South African Journal of Art History.

Abstract: This paper explores the African concepts of ubuntu and ukama in relation to sympoiēsis, or collective making. Traditional practices like litema and the re-claying of the Great Mosque of Djenné are investigated, and they demonstrate the complex relatedness between people, and between people and the environment. An overview of a number of contemporary works of architecture in Africa shows how global and local ways of making are being combined through situated practice, and that socio-environmentally conscious material selection can enable collective modes of making. It is argued that tectonic agency and the strengthening of tectonic networks can contribute towards the reinvigoration of collective making through repair.

Photo Attribution: Heinrich Kammeyer, University of Pretoria, 2010