​Contemporary South African Art

Lindelani was born in 1975 in Maphumulo, KwaZulu Natal.  He matriculated at Kranskop High School in 1995 and completed a National Diploma in Fine Art at the Durban University of Technology.  He is currently completing a degree in Education through UNISA.

Lindelani Ngwenya started wood carving at the age of eight.  Taught by his father who was a sculptor, he developed his weaving technique by studying the traditional grass-weaving techniques employed by women in KwaZulu-Natal.  His interest in cultural and spiritual themes are reflected in his work.   Lindlelani says that “Sculpting around an empty space is an attempt to make the invisible visible.  My concern is to break the boundaries between the mortal and my immortal part, thus reviving Zulu religious systems.”

He has participated in numerous group exhibitions and held his first solo exhibition at the African Art Centre in 2002.  He has undertaken a number of commissions including light fittings for the Constitutional Court and a 5 meter mobile for the Moses Mabhida Soccer Stadium in Durban.  His work is represented in a number of private and corporate collections including the Durban Art Gallery, the Nelson Mandela Museum, the Tatham Art Gallery and the KwaMuhle Museum.