Christie Van Zyl -FossilSoul

African Inspired Dreams puts the spotlight on creative Christie van Zyl AKA Fossilsoul. We asked her a few questions and got to know her better. Also check out her bio and contact details.

⦁ Do you think that creativity involves putting your heart and soul into your work? Or is it more like letting your mind flow freely to witness the surprising results of your actions?

Well to me it is all of that in one combination. I put my heart and soul into my work so that it is authentically mine, so that there are traces of footsteps and being in my work. I allow my mind to flow freely in order to allow the process to guide me so that I can learn from the journey of the creation of each path of artwork in my life.

⦁ What makes you African Inspired?

What makes me African Inspired is how much Africa embraces me in all my different strands of being. In my black genes, my white genes, my mixed race being; in my poetry, in my fluid sexuality and in my love for all things Africa. I love African fabrics more than anything and love the African turbines that our African cultures boast of. Being African is an experience for and to me. I am inspired to speak the lived philosophies of our existence.

⦁ What are your views on #CreativeMonopoly

Well creative platforms are entitled to have their own vision and work with a consistent kind of individual to be able to build the foundation of the brand. What I would really like to see is all these platforms coming together in collaborations and putting together their resources and skills to be able to uplift the overall economy of the arts, especially in South Africa where art does not have a vast economy for artists that are not in the commercial light.

⦁ Has rejection ever affected your creative process? Explain.

Well rejection is inevitable. It is a part of life that forces us to step up our game and climb into our greatest potential. At first it would affect my progress, I would get withdrawn and unable to perform or write or even show up because my work has not 'done-the-talking'. Until I eventually realized that the only way to be able to conquer that is to continue honing my work, learning and gaining feedback no matter how painful it is. The more painful and vigorous a process it was for me to create work, the more prevalent the artwork was/has been. Now I welcome rejection as another stepping stone, also with a serenity aboutt he fact that what is not for me I will pass, but what is for me will come and stay.

⦁ You are an attractive lesbian Is it hard getting people work with you and take you seriously as a creative because of your sexuality and looks?

Well my looks and sexuality have at times made it difficult to be taken seriously because they often think you have no brain to your brawn and others believe that you are misguided. However with the help of surrounding myself with like minded beings I have enter into work spaces where it is my sexuality or my looks that are the focus of the work we do. I am young black raised, mixed race lesbian poet,activist, model and producer - this is who I am, this is what I surround myself with and so I am no longer interested in nor do I expose myself to spaces that do not respect my profile. I do not expect it to always be acknowledged I do however not expect for it to be mentioned or scrutinized when it is not relevant to the work at hand.

27 year old Christie van Zyl or ‘FossilSoul’ as she is affectionately known in poetry circles, is a spoken word poet, a performance artist, a writer and a social justice activist. Van Zyl identifies as a young South African bi-racial, pan-Africanist lesbian. As a poet her strongholds have been around feminism with her very well received poem ‘This is the African Woman?’ making waves on several stages and exhibitions around Cape Town in South Africa. In this poem she questions the several states of oppression and scanty recognition that women are given in Africa. ‘‘This is the African Woman?’ was performed at the ‘Imvo Zabantsundu/The Native Opinion exhibition by South

African political artist Ayanda Mabulu; as well as the

‘Woman Ɩ Object Ɩ Corpse’ exhibition curated by political artist Megnha Singh.

Her poem ‘Isilumo Silumile’ questions society’s distaste for menstruation, followed by a sequel ‘Nature Pains - Isilumo the questioning’ which speaks of the difficulties of maintaining a healthy menstruation when facing poverty. FossilSoul’s latest renowned poem speaks to the plight of self-empowering reformation around homosexuality and is titled ‘Ode to the Young Black lesbian’ dedicated to young black South African lesbians often facing threats to their lives, featuring in the photographic series Faces and Phases of Zanele Muholi. ‘Ode to the Black Lesbian’ has been performed and exhibited on several international platforms including Kunstplass [10] in Oslo Norway, LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph in Charlottesville USA. Christie works extensively in the LGBTIQ sector, she was recently a featured artist, social media manager and panellist speaking on the ‘Taboo of violence in LGBTIQ relationships’ at the 2015 Feminist Artists, Activists and Academics: Crossing Black Geographies (Un)conference, a collaborative project between the New York University Gallatin School of Individualized study and Inkanyiso Media. In a recent trip to Maseru, Lesotho attending the Ba Re e ne re Literature festival Christie performed her eco-feminist orientated poem titled ‘Pap Smear anyone?’ which highlights the economic struggle of women in third world spaces who are subjected to the purchase and usage of used underwear.

This poem was first performed on South African Women’s Day, 9 August 2015 at the Rise Up and Walk International Youth Festival in Johannesburg, South Africa at the Joburg Theatre.

Christie has explored several aspects of her poetry and activism in other mediums of art including dabbling in video art, installation and performance art. Her performance speaking mainly as an agent against the oppression of women, her installation speaking mainly to questions around the social decay of the female body. Van Zyl plans to do further work into the conversation of the female body, in particular the poor regard for vaginal health in society and the drastic effect it places on the health of the female body and her sexual agency. Christie is also currently researching her project coining an

‘Afro-futuristic Queerism’, which explores the practices of queer sexuality in African spiritual practises and how this may contribute to the fluidity of afro-queer sexuality.

Twitter: @goddesschrissy

Facebook page: FossilSoul

Instagram: FossilSoul