Washing Day

Banele Njadayi renders a deferential depiction of a washerwoman at work. The artist uses the coolness of a brightly painted blue wall to contrast the red headdress. He compositionally compliments this with a red bucket in the foreground to highlight his subject. Njadayi employs an easy uncomplicated style to tell a seemingly simple story. On closer inspection much more than a daily township scene is relayed. Doing the laundry without nearby running water is an epic undertaking and if space is limited, dirt and sand can be a constant threat. The artwork also reveals that she is not doing her own household laundry but evident from the blue overalls bulging from the many buckets, she is probably running a small laundry business to support her household.