Tracey Rose was born in 1974 in Durban and lives in Johannesburg. She takes a punk approach to art and is not afraid to be loud and cross boundaries. Her visceral performance and multimedia works combine notions of identify, body, gender, culture, and race. One of her most famous works is “Ciao Bella” from 2001 in which she created a feminist parody of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” at the Venice Biennale. Other significant works include “The Hope I Hope,” “The Kiss” and “TKO.”
Karabo is a graphic designer and illustrator. You may have already seen some of her work on album covers or festival posters. She’s not just a commercial artist. She has an incredible ability to blend multiple styles into a hybrid that melds the many cultures of Africa along with global influences. Her imagery is a bit quirky, but that only makes the serious messages of identity, gender, and politics stronger.
If you’ve been paying attention, you may have heard of Athi-Patra Ruga. He is considered one of the top young artists in the world for his work which uses multiple cultural references to subvert ideas about body, politics, and ideology. One of his best-known exhibits is “The Future White Women of Azania Saga,” which showcased works such as a photograph of a woman costumed in balloons and riding a zebra, and brightly-colored mosaics of women made from flowers.
Cameron Platter is creating a new type of South African pop art. The core difference between Platter’s pop art and pop art of the past is that Platter’s subject matter is not “popular.” He takes ordinary experiences that get overlooked and reformulates them into stunning visual works. Whether it’s a poster, mural, or sculpture, the works are always bold – like when Platter painted “PLEASE PLEASE KILL US” on a wall.
Performance artist Donna Kukama knows about taking risks for art. She broke her leg during a performance in 2009 in which she was swinging off an overpass bridge in Johannesburg while throwing 10-rand notes to passers by. Her work is often about introducing strangeness into ordinary situations. By doing this, she is able to force people to look at reality in new ways. In 2013, Kukama received the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for performance art.
Peter Modisakeng, who is known by his alias Mohau, was born in 1986 and grew up in Soweto. His work focuses on violence and how it shapes cultural identity. There is often theatricality to the work, whether in a direct performance or a staged photograph. His most famous works are a series of stark photos of himself symbolically wearing leopard print and an industrial work apron.
Ralph Ziman is already well known as a filmmaker and mural artist. Now, he is making waves in the realm of photography as well. In January, he had his first solo show — a series of photographs of street vendors wielding AK47s ornately decorated with colorful beads. His work challenges the clichés of war and violence in culture.
It would be unfair to label Nelisiwe Xaba a dancer or choreographer because her work combines so many different media and genres. Using space, video projections, and her body, Xaba is able to speak of issues such as gender roles and sexual control. Recently, Xaba was awarded the FNB Art Prize for her video installation, “Uncles & Angels,” which she created with Mocke J. van Veuren, a lecturer, filmmaker and researcher in Johannesburg.
Critics say one of the most impressive things about Chiurai’s work is that he is able to speak on themes of violence, war, and race without the notions of victimization that usually accompany them. There is a dark humorous undertone to his bold images that show staged scenes like “The Minister of Health” holding onto tribal skulls or warlords holding hands.
Steven Cohen isn’t afraid to get in trouble for his work. In 2013 he was arrested for indecent exposure in Paris after he showed up at the Eiffel Tower dressed like a bird and was led around by his penis by a rooster. As a gay Jewish South African man, Cohen often uses confrontation in his art to draw attention to marginalized people.
