Tusani Mngomezulu

Artist: Tusani Mngomezulu

Title: The Green Stripe Portrait Influence

Year: 2014

Media: Oil Pastels on el Toro paper

Size: 65 x 43 cm

Provenance:  Artists Collection

Artist Statement

My self- portrait artwork, The Green Stripe Portrait Influence is about the use of expressive and vibrant colours. I was experimenting with colours. I am fascinated by the combination of different colours in my portrait. The process of drawing with oil pastels and adding layers makes this artwork interesting and convincing.

This self- portrait is influenced by Henri Matisse’s painting The Green Stripe, a portrait of an Asian woman.  I chose this artwork because of the distinctive style of painting has been creatively executed.

Sinalithemba Nxaba

Artist: Sinalithemba Nxaba

Title: Untitled

Date: 2014

Medium: Acrylic on paper

Size: 30 x 21.5 cm

Provenance: Artists collection

Artist Statement

My work is about human suffering. I express suffering in my society and myself. I chose to do a self portrait to show both society and my suffering. I used an expressionist style with colours that identify suffering I see and experience. I used short and hard brushstrokes to show emotion. I my brush strokes formed a pattern with blue, brown and white colours. I was inspired by William Kentridge.

Mlungisi Myeni

Artist           : Mlungisi Myeni

Title             : My father

Year             : 2014

Size              : 420 x 594mm

Medium      : Black ink on litho paper

Location      : Artist collection

BIOGRAPHY

I was born at Mkuze (Obonjeni Hospital), in 1994, into a big family. In 1996 my mother left Mkuze for good to settle in Cinci area because she was extremely ill. In 2000 when I was six years old my mother died. I was raised in Cinci area by my grandmother (Nester Zondo, Shabalala).

Memorial Mnguni, who taught me Visual Art at Ekupheleni High School for three years, influence my artistic career. After completing my National Senior Certificate I move to settle in Durban, where presently I am doing my National Diploma in Fine art (DUT).

ARTIST STATEMENT

This artwork, titled My Father, is a journey about my family members that I have lost. I am doing this concept because I feel like it is the best way for me to make a connection with my ancestors through art. I always try to make my artworks based on what I received from my ancestors through visions and dreams. 

I like to work using caving tools in the process of printing. I also like to express myself by using symbolic objects as I have shown in my still-life. Each object in the artwork has a different symbolic meaning that contributes to the overall message. In the process of my art making, I have learnt to take problems as they came and try not to fight against them.

 

Leevi Arrikum

Artist: Leevi Arrikum

Artwork: Self Portrait Print

Medium: Black print ink on white paper.

Size: 27.7 x 21 cm

Year: 2014

Provenance: Artists collection

Artist Statement

I decided to submit a self-portrait. I love to simplify complicated pictures into shapes. I see my world simplified and I believe anything can be broken up into shapes. Sharp shapes show tension while rounded smooth ones show more calmness and relaxation on features.

Carla Foo

Artist: Carla Foo

Title: A Pond in the woods

Year: 2014

Size: 42 x 30 cm

Medium: Water colour on paper

Location: Artists collection

Artist Statement
I chose this painting A pond in the woods.  It is a copy of a work by Albrecht Durer. I used water colour to render the painting.  I enjoy the medium of water colour so it was very satisfying. This painting was done during the week we were looking at landscapes and I felt that the painting of Durer captured nature in a soft gentle manner.  I like the paint running into each other and creating a mixture of whorls.  I used ink pen to create my outline to define the landscape.  I am satisfied with this piece of work.

Shezi Bongumusa

Artist: Shezi Bongumusa

Title: Deco in Glass

Year: 2014

Size: 420 x 594 mm

Medium/technique: Black ink on Litho Paper, Marley tile carving

Location: Artists collection

Artist Statement

In my artwork I try to examine the popularity of fruit bowls used as table decoration. This decoration is popular in western culture and seems to be adopted by some African people. I have chosen to print using the progressive method. Furthermore I have used various drawing techniques to achieve aesthetically pleasing artwork, with texture. Those techniques are cross-hatching, line and stippling. The printing process takes time. I started by carving less to get the dark first print and I had to kept carving until I achieve the eighth print which is lighter than all the others. I have used different tools to carve the Marley tile, the V-shaped, U-shaped chisel. I copied Still Life with Fruit Compote and Pocket Knife painting by Emma Cady and change it to into a print.

Artist: Cady E.

Title: Still Life with Fruit Compote and Pocket Knife

Year: 1895

Size: Unknown

Medium: Stencil and/or Theorem, Pochoir Painting Watercolour

Location: Abby A Rockefeller Folk Art Museum

Sisonke L Ndabambi

Artist: Sisonke L Ndabambi

Title: Night Lights

Year: 2014

Medium: Colour Print

Size: 31 x 26 cm

Provenance: Artist’s Collection

Artist Statement

In Night Lights I concentrated on classical architecture. This is to show how beautiful old buildings are, and they should be appreciated because they carry so much history with them.

I have used three colours of ink, which I mixed to produce other colours to give an impression of Yale University, United States of America at night. I have used the colour purple and black for the building, yellow to show the lights through the windows and doors. I have used red for the floor, blue and black for the sky. I used the stippling technique to fade the blue to black, to give an impression of a dark sky.

I am currently working and exploring other concept at the moment, like cityscapes and self-portraits. It is my first time working with prints, paint, clay and other mediums, I am very impressed with the outcomes.

Mfundo Gumede

Artist: Mfundo Gumede

Title: Untitled

Date: 2014

Medium: Acrylic on paper

Provenance: Artists collection

Artist Statement

My concept is about me finding myself as a young artist. It is important to know myself as young boy who is born in a traditional family. I feel that it important to know my origins because if I don’t know where I come from I’m like a tree without roots. The images is free and relaxed. In this painting I used expressive lines to show the flowing of the water without any direction, which is how I feel sometimes.  Most of the colours I us are cold colours, this shows that I’m down to earth and a free spirited person. I was inspired by Vincent Van Gough use of expressive lines .

Andile Dlamini

Artist: Andile Dlamini

Title: Untitled

Date:2014

Medium: Acrylic on paper

Size: 25 x 17 cm

Provenance:  Artists collection

ARTIST STATEMENT

This artwork explores culture in the Modern day. I chose to work with a ‘isagila’ because I want to talk about the issue of the South African youth. The youth are losing interest within their culture and traditions. The choice of colour, blue and green, shows that culture is a cool and natural thing. I work in a planned manner, I always know what I want to achieve at the end. The technique I use is influenced by both impressionistic and realistic styles of painting. I am influenced by artists such as Van Gogh and Da Vinci just to name a few.

Amy Waller

Artist:  Amy Waller

Artwork:  Empty Ruins

Year:  2014

Medium:  Collage and Acrylic

Provenience:  Artsist Collection

During a painting module we looked into a theme of cityscapes. As a group we took a walk through the city of Durban. I took many photos and notes for reference. Above is the artwork  Empty Ruins, it is my own interpretation of the city. The expierence of the walk influenced how I painted  this artwork, as it effected my mood towards my subject matter. In the middle of the artwork is a black and white photocopy of a photo I took on the walk. I then used mixed media of acrylic and paper to expand the cityscape. The photocopied image represents the present while the painted cityscape portrays what the city will look like in the future, a city in ruins.

Below is the original photo taken on my city walk.:

Amy Waller

Amy Waller– Artist Statement

 

Artist:  Amy Waller

Artwork:  Empty Ruins

Year:  2014

Medium:  Collage and Acrylic

Size:  Unknown

Provenience: Durban University of Technology;

                         City Campus, Kwa- Zulu Natal, SA

During a painting module we looked into a theme of cityscapes. As a group we took a walk through a part of Durban city. I took many photos for references as well as took notes on what I saw, heard, felt and smelt. All of these things influenced how I painted the city as it effected my mood towards my subject matter. Above is an artwork titled “Empty Ruins”, it is my own interpretation of Durban city. In the middle of the artwork is one of my photos I took in Durban, I then used a mixed media of acrylic and paper to expand it in my own interpretation. This artwork shows a bright city that looks far away. The foreground of the city is my interpretation of what it will look like in the future. Below is my photo reference:

Durban (Waller 2014)

References:

1.       Waller. A, 2014. Empty Ruins (painting). Durban University of Technology, City Campus

2.       Waller, A. 2014. Durban (photograph). Durban University of Technology, City Campus