​Contemporary South African Art

Born in 1952 in Bedrums in Johannesburg.  His mother was a domestic worker and a single parent with a small salary who had to raise three childred on her own.  When Jiyane was still young, his mother was able to buy the family a house in Orlando East, Soweto. He went to Ipatleleng Secondary School and then Orlando High.  Because there wasn't much money, he left school in Grade 10 did not matriculate.

 

Jiyane is a gifted and self-taught artist who discovered he was good at art while he was still in primary school in Soweto.  Even the teachers at school noted his talent.  In fact, some of the school teachers would come to his class and request him to make drawings to decorate the classes or to draw pictures on the board for their lessons.  In his spare time he made drawings of the people in the streets near his home.

 

Jiyane first worked in an office as a clerk and still made drawings after work.  In 1970, he decided to become a full-time artist.  Fellow black artists such as Duke Ketsha and Eric Mbatha introduced him to other artists in Soweto.  Jiyane then heard about the Mofolo Art Centre where he met other black artists who had become well known.  By 1974 he was making a name for himself as an artist.

 

Jiyane enjoys working alone in his Soweto matchbox house. But despite this, he appreciates other artists' work and learns other art techniques from them.  Jiyane feels that too much influence from other artists may change his thinking and he does not want them to radically influence his work.  He prefers to work on his own and upon completion likes to show it to his fellow artists.

 

Although at the beginning of his career Jiyane used pencil and pastel, today he also uses other mediums.  These range from oil paint, watercolours, pencil and acrylic paints to pastels.  His main focus is township scenes, but at times he enjoys painting landscapes.

 

Today Jiyane continues to live in Soweto.  Though he regards his work as of good quality, he thinks that he still has to work harder to achieve the kind of standards set by the likes of Duke Ketsha and Sydney Khumalo, both of whom he holds in high esteem.

 

Ref:  Walking Tall, Without Fear - 24 South African Artists from the Struggle Era by Ifa Lethu & Dirkie Offringa