Locals win at art awards
He started using beads to create his vibrant artworks when a client suggested it in 2009
TWO Kempton Park residents walked away with top accolades at this year’s Thami Mnyele Fine Arts Awards.
The winners were announced at the official opening of the exhibition and prize-giving ceremony at Coen Scholtz Recreation Centre on Saturday evening.
Sinalo Ntuli, who lives in Kempton Park CBD, won the R30 000 Ekurhuleni prize for his artwork titled, The Lead Singer, while Kelvin Power Station resident, Tanisha Bhana’s Graceland, earned her the multi and new media/photography merit award. She and three others each received R7 500 for the merit awards.
Ntuli’s artwork, titled,’The Lead Singer, is made up entirely of beads which he sewed onto a canvas. He then covered the complete work with resin to keep the beads in place.
His works mainly deal with African culture and especially depict women in their various stages of maturity – always clad in traditional gear.
In the winning artwork there are several girls singing at a ceremony and the girl in front is depicted in full colour while her peers are in grayscale.
“I transformed the girl in front to be the lead singer – she stands out as if she is a performer on stage. I use this technique to make the main figure of the artwork stand out and also not to confuse the eyes of the viewer,” he explained.
He started using beads to create his vibrant artworks when a client suggested it in 2009.
“My artwork is concerned with our dying culture. I expose, through visuals, the beauty we possess in terms of humanity as a nation. I focus on the vital ceremonies that girls and women partake in as they pass through different stages of life,” he added.
Bhana, who is a lawyer by profession, may be described as “destroying” beautiful photographs with her artwork. She creates her works in various stages.
She starts with the photograph which is set in desolation. Her subjects are often seen in naturally challenging environments such as refuse dumps and abandoned buildings.
The next stage of creation involves her working on the images digitally, adding elements to the photographs. The juxtaposition of these elements is where the viewer can engage with her artwork and see themes of both hope and despair operating within the same sphere.
For her winning artwork, Graceland, a pigment print on archival paper, she worked the amount of time that equals about four days to perfect it digitally.
The overall winner of this year’s awards, Louise Kritzinger from Pretoria, won R40 000. Her artwork, Pyrrhic Victory, is an installation made of steel, water, metallic powder and soap.
In the light of Marikana this poignant piece brings a strong message against the pollution and environmental destruction gold mining causes in our country. It talks about who is to blame for the environmental aftermath of mining and the viewer is called to see what role they play.
She recently finished her masters degree in fine arts at the University of Pretoria on this topic.
The other three merit awards went to the Newtown Artist Proof Studios Paper), Battson Liberty (painting) and Danélle Janse van Rensburg (sculpture).
There were more than 200 entries for this year’s awards. The best 80 art works will be on exhibition until October 13 on weekdays from 9am to 4.30pm at Coen Scholtz Recreation Centre, Birchleigh North.
