Tito Zungu was born somewhere between 1939 and 1946. He was born in the Thukela valley, Maphumulo in KwaZulu-Natal. He never acquired a formal education. He was like so many others of his time.

He worked on a farm as a labourer between 1957 and 1966. His love for the land permeated his entire life and defined the way he lived. He was a subsistence farmer and an artist. Visits were always prefaced by lengthy discussions about mielies, donkeys, goats, weather, and then art. He held a brief job at a dairy in Pinetown, just outside of Durban. In 1970 Zungu moved to Durban to work for the Dominican Order as a cook. It is there that he began his artistic life which was tentatively encouraged by the nuns.

​

Zungu had a prolific memory which he often referred to for subject matter in his drawings. The lyricism of his work, due to his acute storytelling ability was often at odds with our rational, driven society that pedalled fact rather than memory. 

​

As a strictly traditionalist Zulu, his emotions were always formally and tidily expressed, clear, unequivocal, yet powerfully supported by the lyrical, jewel-like qualities of the drawings on the envelope, that which imbued the love letter with a renewed and potent force. The significance and relevance of the traditional beaded Zulu love letter, which is given by the woman to the man as an encoded message of love within the traditional courtship ritual, informed Zungu’s artistic provenance.

​

During the 1980s and 90s Zungu gained further prominence in the South African and international art arena. He participated in a number of exhibitions and appeared in several publications including The Neglected Tradition – towards a new History of South African Art (1930-1980), The Art from South Africa Exhibition (MOMA, Oxford), the 1991 Cape Town Triennale and the Venice Biennale in 1993. In addition to this Zungu has also received many awards. His work was also represented in South African and international collections.

Zungu continued working until a few weeks before his death.

​

http://revisions.co.za/biographies/tito-zungu/#.X5r8wNBKhPZ