Art Is A Verb

Fela Gucci (Thato Ramaisa) and Desire Marea (Buyani Duma)Constitute the Cultural Movement Faka. They Use Performance, Literature, Sound, Photography, Video and Fashion to Exhibit Their Experiences as Creative Black Queers Penetrating Spaces That Were Previously Off-limits.

- Afika Jadezweni

If you don’t know FAKA, cast your mind back to an image that went viral around the continent when, in June 2018, the duo posed nonchalantly next to Donatella Versace. This after providing the soundtrack – the distinct Gqom hit ‘Uyang’khumbula’ – for the Versace menswear Spring/Summer ’19 collection. Faka, a shared isiZulu/ isiXhosa verb – meaning to insert, penetrate and break into previously exclusionary spaces – is the word this creative pair has chosen to describe the intended impact of their work.

The duo’s road to the Versace SS19 show started with an email from Donatella Versace’s team, requesting the use of FAKA’s music. This extended an invitation to the show itself. Donatella confirmed Fela Gucci and Desire Marea’s collective impact when the world was already waking up to their unique musical offerings.

‘It is a misunderstanding to say that Donatella Versace discovered us,’ Desire explains. ‘In a large sense, we made ourselves accessible to her by being visible and remaining as authentic as we are. That part of the narrative is very important to us.’