Episode 5: Imiphindo ephilisayo (interlude)

What can creative practice offer a displaced spirit? How might making—through word, thread, voice, or movement—become a ritual of return?This interlude opens a soft space for pause and reflection. Through sonic fragments and field recordings, we begin to sense how creative work can function as ukubuyisa—a calling back of the self to place, memory, and community. For Black artists navigating dislocation, silence, or loss, imiphindo ephilisayo suggests that the fold can be medicinal: a site of re-stitching, remembering, and re-entry.This fragment does not seek to resolve, but to sense. It honours creative process as a form of care work—an intimate practice of spiritual repair and cultural resurgence.“Imiphindo ephilisayo ayenzi nje into—iyavula. Ivula indlela, ivula iintliziyo, ivula izandi zexesha.”CLOSING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSNarrating VoicesMr Mangaliso JaftaAzola KrweqeMs Nobuhle JamesMrs Nokhaya JilingisaMama PhakaniZizo NtukusheVisual & Video ContributorsAzola KrweqeSibabalwe MakeleniCommunity ContributorsThe James Family – ooXabaMrs Kutazwa JamesMrs Nokugcina James (special thanks for the recording of umsebenzi kaMnu. Luphumlo James)Mrs LudidiMs Phumla JamesMs Nobuhle JamesWillowvale Makers Co-opKholiswa MagidiTheko Theo YinindwaPhiliswa MatutuNwabisa MahlaleshushuMiranda SiwlabeniYouth ParticipantsZintle BonakeleVuyokazi MnconoLethu JilingisiNokubonga HawuLisakhanya PoniYolande TskaneLiyabona NtshobodwanaBuyiswa Beauty NduweCommunity yakuGatyanaCebisa MagoqozaMzukisi NketshuThando MadwantsiThobile TsutsuSikelela ThobigunyaNeliswa BambintalaMiranda SihlanguAnd the broader community at largeSpecial thanks to:Azola KrweqeLukhanyo MuluseLocations ReferencedWillowvale Arts Center, kuGatyaneJames Family Home – Elukhanyisweni, eQumbu, eMdeniMr & Mrs James’ Residence – Highbury, UmtataJames Residence – Walmer Road Lodge, Beacon Bay, East LondonNgumla Family Home – eGcibala, TsomoMpintsha Family Home – Nkanga, WillowvaleBuffalo City MunicipalityProduction TeamExecutive Producer: Bongani TauCurator & Editor: Siviwe JamesContent Advisor: Sihle SogaulaGraphic Design: 2DOTS Space AgencyVideo & Sound Editing: Siviwe JamesText: Siviwe JamesXhosa Language Advisor: Ms Nobuhle JamesDigital Archiving SupportArt Meets AppInstitutional SupportEastern Cape Department of Sports, Arts and CultureUN/FOLDING_RE/FOLDING_FOLDED: Imiphindo kwaXhosa © 2023 Created and produced by Siviwe James (James-Laurie) With support from the African Fashion Research Institute (AFRI) and Creative Nestlings Foundation, under the New Narratives Programme (2023).Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International