Johannesburg — South African artist, Vuyo Mabheka, has been chosen as one of 15 artists whose work will be represented at the Salon Approche Art Fair in Paris.
The art show takes place from 9-12 November and is unique in its curated approach to showcasing artists who experiment with, and appropriate the medium of photography. Vuyo will feature work from his ongoing Popihuise (Afrikaans for doll houses), which was awarded the Images Vevey 2023/2024 special jury prize.
Vuyo, born in 1999 in Libode in the Eastern Cape, later moved to Thokoza in Johannesburg where he joined discovered photography through the Of Souls and Joy project.
Of Soul and Joy aims to provide the township’s youth and its surroundings with professional skills in the field of photography. He joined Afronova Gallery as a represented artist, earlier this year.
For his Popihuise series, Vuyo uses collaged still images to create a contrast between his childhood memories and the toys he would play with to diffuse his often difficult lived reality. Vuyo creatues a unique series of artwork by using cut outs from his childhood pictures and drawings, as a reference to ‘Umkokotelo’, a slang term for reinvented structures.
Vuyo’s work bears witness to the complex experience of his childhood, and how this came to form his identity in relation to his social and family context,” says Of Soul and Joy project manager and mentor Jabulani Dhlamini.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Afronova/Vuyo Mabheka
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Matthew Petersen
