Solo exhibition for SA artist
Bambo Sibiya's work is an exploration of the various aspects of township life, with particular emphasis on single-parent households and the position of men within these households.
THE 2012 Absa L’Atelier Gerard Sekoto Winner Bambo Sibiya, will hold a solo exhibition entitled Umlambo Uzizwa nge Dondolo, opening on Monday, 20 July at 6pm at artSPACE durban, 3 Millar Road, Durban.
The solo exhibition is a traditional isiZulu expression literally meaning to test the waters, in the hopes of deciphering someone or something’s character, and is an exploration of the various aspects of township life, with particular emphasis on single-parent households and the position of men within these households.
Within this discourse, Sibiya explores the lifestyle of migrant labourers who had left their families and moved to Johannesburg at the peak of Apartheid, in the hopes of finding work.
Sibiya’s visual and conceptual compositions are influenced by the characters which have become an impressionable part of his experiences being one of three children raised by a single mother in KwaThema Township, just outside ohannesburg.
In his works, Sibiya captures women’s eternal fight for finding ways of feeding, nurturing, and protecting their children and families. In the series of children’s faces, Sibiya invites us to celebrate the beauty and promise that children hold for the world, but never forgetting to make the viewer aware of the responsibility that one holds in shaping the future of South Africa.
Sibiya further pays homage to the township men who he and his siblings were surrounded by during childhood. Among these men, were migrant workers referred to as omuSwenka (the swenkas) who would regularly take part in amateur fashion shows to flaunt their immaculate fashion sense and cheeky attitude.
The exhibition runs until 1 August.
Contact Karen and Claus Bradtke at artSPACE durban, on 031 312 0793.
