​Contemporary South African Art

Artist Statement

 

I have obtain B tech degree in Fine Arts at Walter Sisulu University with a couple of excellency wards in ceramics.

 

My work involves relationships and interactions within African Traditional symbolism and cultural symbolic similarities. The object is the subject of functional and none functional Ceramic pots and sculptural pots. The drama carried by the object entails and details the African culture, particularly the culture of Bantu speaking people, in relation to other African Cultural and Traditional entities or tribes.

 

The object is made up of mixed mediums such as leather and steel but the core dominating mediums are Clay and glaze.I grew up in South Africa, Eastern Cape Province, Butter worth in the Village called Mambendeni which is surrounded by various villages of Xhosa speaking people.

 

In our days in these villages are no longer Xhosa speaking people only who live and occupy the land, the villages are now filled by different races or tribes from all parts of Africa. Therefore within a village there are three or four races with different cultural and traditional activities, different attires etc.

 

As an individual artist who observed the culture and traditional activities of these various races. I have captured these traditional activities and cultural symbols and put them together in a form of contemporary art work . My work therefore portrays the values and importance of traditional and cultural objects used by these races or tribes in different occasions. My art work objects are influenced and I inspired by African tradition and culture.

 

Reference:  http://artintheyard.co.za/project/simphiwe-mbunyuza/