She regarded sculpture as a means of expression that could connect people and introduce spiritual values to an exceedingly materialistic society. She believed in a cross-cultural fellowship and in art’s ability to change the world by imparting values such as trust, equality, tolerance and humanity.
The human body was also a central theme in Aase Texmon Rygh’s early sculptures from the 1950s, but her approach was completely different to that of Mancoba. One of her central motifs is the human body in different positions: lying down, resting or moving.
She was inspired by the notion of dance as bodily expression within a strict pattern. She sought to capture and isolate a form to create an expression of her own experience of the body in motion.