March 29th - 10:10

Title: March 29th - 10:10 Medium: Super-8 film Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Resolution: 2880 x 2160 File Type: H.264 Codec / MP4. Comments: Jordan brought us deep into the Matobo Hills to visit traditional Ndebele painted homesteads. These were custom buildings where art is not separate from life, but lived inside of. The families welcomed us in, opening their doors with a quiet generosity. From the outside, the homes are geometric and rhythmically painted in repeating patterns that feel both ancestral and modern. But inside, they transform. The walls curve and the spaces soften with everything becomes organically ornate, as if the structures were grown from the ground rather than built. We visited two of Jordan’s friends, each living on opposite ends of the hills. The landscapes stretched far apart, the spirit felt shared with one another becoming rooted, expressive, deeply handmade. At one home, we arrived on a child’s birthday. There was no performance, just life unfolding. We celebrated with them, sharing homemade cake, laughter, and a moment that felt both intimate and universal. For a brief time, we weren’t visitors. We were part of their community standing inside a living artwork shaped by generations. In places like the Ndebele homesteads, the home itself comes from the land. The walls are made from soil, dung, ash. Made from materials that breathe, crack, and return back to the earth over time. Nothing is permanent. Everything in cycles when collaborating with the land. The patterns painted on the homes carry cultural identity and lineage. Ndebele women used these geometric designs as a visual language marking family, resistance, and continuity. The act of painting is a ritual, repeated generation after generation, passing knowledge through their artworks and architecture.