Lindokuhle Tshabalala(1999) is a self-taught visual artist and writer from Johannesburg South Africa. In the early years of his life, he spent most of his time perfecting his pencil drawings. He feels this was his destiny as he never planned this path. He feels enlightened, invigorated, and alive when he immerses himself in the Art realm. His work unpacks layers and nuances of African history in African Art.

The current body of work is conceived as a resurrection of African heroes and heroines.These works are referred to as “FIRMAMENTS OF AFRAKA”. As a self-taught arfist, his craftmanship is not based on a fixed taught method or practice. Every painting contains a new method and skill that requires a free chain of thought and a willingness to be guided.

He has chosen to unpack this narrative as many of the world’s most recognizable and influential stories in Art come from Western culture - classical mythology, Norse mythology, Judeo-Christian narratives, and many of them illuminate the heroic efforts of men or the cultural experience of White Western figures.

Regrettably, women and people of colour appear in folklore, myths, and legends across cultures but they are less often depicted as heroic protagonists in prominent renowned tales. Black women are rarely portrayed as offering anything redemptive, spiritually, or intellectually conscious enough to impact the positive influences of others. When they are made present, their ethnicity is questioned or diminished. A debate rides with a level of confusion and obfuscation is created to argue that they were Black women before them being whitewashed through history over the years.

The works are inspired by a diary left to him by his beloved late mother. This diary explored and unpacked his identity and gave him a unique vantage point to look up and see things in our society with greater insight and unique vantage point. Her experiences in fur gave him the courage to interrogate the stories from multiple angles and tell them beyond stereotyped identities. His vision evolved into a lived vision of seeing the stories resurrect and given a new form of life with every page and canvas. The “Winged Chest” people are inspired by a deep desire to resurrect the African Heroes and Heroines who are in the world of forever sleep, with the firm belief that they will be reborn in a character and positive situational circumstances through his work.

These works are a spiritual compass to the world yet to be discovered through colour, form, and artistry.

My style is influenced by Pointillism and Mosaic. I paint because I want the viewers to somehow relate and be moved by my work. I express my views and opinions on women empowerment and cultural identity, l’m inspired by society and the people I live with.

“Amagugu nenkcubeko” explores the ideas of cultural identity, cultural identity acts as a way to preserve history and provides individuals with a sense of belonging. Our different cultures serve as an invisible bond, which brings us together.

The colors I usually use are to evoke a feeling or certain emotions. This series consists of the mediums of acrylic paint, Gold leaf, fabric and dry Acrylic paint peels, these mediums give different textures and rhythms to ignite emotional reactions. I continually explore different color palettes and color relationships to make my work sing with vibrancy and color and evoke emotions.

The purpose of these portraits is to generate strong emotions and create a sense of beauty. Our heritage is our unique, inherited sense of family identity.

Colleen Bester, born1975 in Cape Town, delved into acrylic painting as a means to stave off boredom during the lockdown period and the distraction soon turned into an all-consuming passion and the boredom turned into therapy.

The self-taught artist uses the juxtaposition of light and dark and ugly and beautiful as a subject for most of her work, using everything around her as inspiration. Her past experiences and present mindset aims to evoke emotion, or spark conversation.

Her current focus is GBV, based on her own past and is aimed at exposing the many emotions victims endure and the triumph they can experience, as survivors with the right tools, knowledge and support base. Painting has thus become therapy and empowerment.

She is proactive in promoting her work and sold 2 paintings at her first group exhibition, which galvanized her to approach more avenues and has since become a member of Art. where she has also exhibited and The Emerging Artists Programme, where she has been involved in workshops and exhibitions. She has also taken part in various First Thursday exhibitions in Cape Town e.g. Kloof Street Hotel; Love is Burgers; House of Co, Fame Week Africa 2022 and has had a solo exhibition at Mullers Gallery, after only a few periods of promoting her work. Her work is currently on exhibit at Art Haus in Sea point and Youngblood Gallery in town.

She uses acrylic and texture in order to convey her feelings and messages onto canvas. That said, her paintings are best seen in person to experience the full effects of her emotions.

AJ Burns was born in Cape Town and has always had a love of Africa with strong ties to nature, and in particular water and its movement.

As a child, he drew and painted prodigiously. However, He was no angel and would caddishly remove the paper labels (including the name of the colour) from his colour-blind younger brother’s wax crayons. He now claims he was just helping him with “his tonal values… and a liffle abstraction”!

AJ creates large contemporary abstract pieces by blowing acrylic paint around stretched canvases… with his mouth!

He lays down one colour, and then another before blowing the second colour through the first. This creates vibrant movement and the distortion of the form below the water surface.

The effect creates but a burst of energy & calmness, colour & monochrome and is full of detail and texture.