Minotaurus

Minotaurus is a sculpture by the Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland) artist Nandipha Mntambo (b.1982). The minotaur is a mythical creature in Greek mythology portrayed as half man and half bull, an often fierce and daunting figure. In this artist’s version of the legendary beast, Mntambo inserts herself into the body of the Minotaur, displaying the female body in a warrior stance. Yet with the head tilted downwards and the facial expression submissive with a soft downwards gaze. The ambiguous figure expresses a femininity that is fighting to emerge or symbolise the last moments of the life of the Minotaur, relieved to be delivered from a surreal and lonely experience.