"The 'Competitive Sisterhood' works were created in relation to my 'Masculine Traits' series. The patriarchal perceptions, standards, and expectations placed on black women by society have long affected how we see, treat, and feel about ourselves and each other. In this series, I have referenced my childhood memories. In one work you'll see a doll playing with another multifaceted doll in what looks like a beauty salon, in another, a scene of playing dress-up with mom's wigs and make-up. In another scene, a doll we used to create from fabric materials and finally a group of four girls playing one of the most popular games from my childhood, called ‘washisha‘. I have used these memories as metaphors to highlight how, from childhood, intimate, innocent moments can be made to feel competitive, when they shouldn't be." - Cinthia Sifa Mulanga, 2021.
Mulanga says “the focus of my art is on the representation of black female subjects. Through their depiction, I engage in different personas, emotions, or states of mind. I juxtapose several different women in my paintings, thereby highlighting the complexities of female identity, the stream of varying consciousnesses that occupy a single space, identity or moment in time.“
