Minje Pehle - Before Me

In order to understand the ways that culture can be erased through migration and the passing of generations, Aneeqa Salma Martinson focused on the ‘Jibi’ – a series of buttons connected by a chain used to fasten garments, traditionally included as part of a marriage trousseau in Northwestern India. Focusing on her own family’s lost jibi, Aneeqa attempted to recreate this heirloom through collecting stories, understanding the role it played in the family through the partition of India and Apartheid South Africa. In crafting a new artefact based on physical descriptions, each bronze flower-shaped button in this jibi is gradually eroded, symbolising how culture and heritage are lost over time. A final installation weaves together poignant narratives that show how the object was used, and the multiple meanings it held for different family members.