Artist to showcase work in India
Thalente Khomo (28) from Gcilima has been selected to showcase her art at an exhibition at a museum.
A multi-disciplinary artist from Gcilima, Thalente Khomo will be showcasing her art at the Bihar Museum in India from August 7 to October 7.
The 28-year-old who is based in Johannesburg works as a freelance artist, specialising in photography, textiles, performance and printmaking.
Khomo’s artistic practise revolves around posed portraits, serving as the foundation of her photography work.
She explained that through her images, she aims to visually express a universe that intertwines the physical and spiritual realms, drawing from personal and cultural experiences.
She added that her artistic style is characterised by a distinct use of saturation and contrast, with subjects’ skin tones often transformed into rich greyscale while the backgrounds are vividly coloured.
Bihar’s State Art and Culture secretary, Bandana Preyashi said the Bihar Museum, one of the largest such facilities in India has been selected for a two-month-long international exhibition for artists of G20 countries.
Preyashi said selected artists’ works will be displayed in the exhibition, christened ‘Together We Art’.
“The Bihar Museum is now organising and implementing the project for the G20 initiative. ‘Together We Art’ is based on the theme of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, a concept from the Maha Upanishad. The exhibition will continue till October 7 and then move to a venue in New Delhi,” she said.
Khomo told Fever that she bagged this international opportunity after her work was collected by Art Bank of South Africa.
“That is how my work was seen and ended up being selected. The first time I knew about photography was from the magazines my grandmother brought home while she worked as a domestic worker. Because of my love for fashion, I focused on the fashion catalogues from Elle, Fairlady and Glamour which made me love photography,” she said.
Although she initially wanted to do journalism or write poetry, she found that she could express her thoughts through photographs.
Khomo studied photography at the Durban University of Technology. She said as much as she would love to be an international, she would love to see her art on women, children and rural areas being showcased in those areas and to the people who are subjects of her art.
“I want people from the South Coast to see my work being showcased in our area because that may inspire one or two people,” she said.
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