Teka Munyika looks at everyday movements of the body performed in public space, and how these are impacted by space and the elements that constitute it: light, architecture, material and surface. The performance juxtaposes the social practices that exist in the area against those that are introduced by the influx of newer, middle-class residents. The work explores commonplace actions – such as braaing, hair styling and sun tanning – by bringing them together and contrasting them against a formal event to create an absurd and surreal experience, bringing into question notions of cultural or leisure practices in the context of urban renewal and gentrification.

Teka Munyika was produced in collaboration with Sello Pesa, Ntsoana Contemporary Dance Theatre and Murray Kruger.

The performance was commissioned for Johannesburg’s 1st Conference on Public Art at Main Street Life, Johannesburg, 2011 and then in 2012 Teka Munyika was performed at the Infecting the City Festival in Cape Town.