“I tend to think that having that extreme colour, that kind of black, is amazingly beautiful… and powerful. What I was thinking to do with my image was to reclaim the image of blackness as an emblem of power.”
– Kerry James Marshall
Opening on 2 July 2022 at the enigmatic Johannesburg-based BKhz Gallery nestled on Keyes Avenue in Rosebank, Zandile Tshabalala presented her first solo exhibition on South African soil, titled ‘Lovers in a secret place’.
For those of you who may now know her (yet), Zandile Tshabalala is a Soweto-born fine artist and a recent graduate from the University of the Witwatersrand. Her work speaks to contextualising art history through a Black narrative – Our narrative – and is laced with her reinterpretation of culture through an African lens. I’ve been quietly-yet-ardently following Tshabalala’s art career – from nascent global exhibitions right through to collaborations with global luxury fashion houses such as Bottega Veneta, and more. I found her artist bio, posted on the BKhz Instagram, in the lead up to her first local solo exhibition to be an apt description of what her work resembles:
“Born in Soweto, South Africa, Tshabalala’s work expresses her interests in topics of representation particularly the representation of the Black women in historical paintings. The artist noticed a pattern whereby the Black woman in paintings was usually placed at the background and starts to disappear almost as if she is not present or is placed in compromising situations that reinforce the idea that the black woman is inferior and should be marginalised.
The artist felt a strong need to challenge these ideas and give back the Black woman’s voice in her paintings by placing the Black female figure in a powerful position that allows her to be in control of her own body and the gaze that is exchanged between her and the viewer. The artist then starts to tap into topics of beauty, sensuality and the relationship between the Black female body and the landscape.”
This relationship to recreating culture according to the Black woman’s perspective is evident within stand-alone works such as ‘Lady in Pink Stilettos’ (2021) and ‘Sweetest love’ (2022), which formed part of the ethereal exhibition recently held at BKhz. The latter even introduced a collaboration with FF Rooftop Farm for the work planting the indoor garden to accommodate the opening.
There’s a new vanguard of young Black fine artists taking control of their personal narratives, and translating their work globally. Tshabalala is right at the forefront of it and ‘Lovers in a secret place’ was an enchanting experience, eloquently and expertly curated by the BKhz team. This team included the owner of the gallery himself, Banele Khoza, and his team of Papi Konopi, Kwanele Kunene, Mankebe Seakgoe and Francesco Mbele. And aside from the art pieces being displayed by Tshabalala, the main highlight from the entire exhibition is how her work invites all audiences to come engage, and enjoy, the artistic experience.
On the night of the opening, you could see the room filled with just as many Gen Z’ers and Millennials as parents and grandparents. That’s the magic of Tshabalala’s work – she has the inherent ability to earnestly relay her human experience, and source genuine inspiration from her culture and ancestry. Engaging with her art feels so honest and integral; I liken it to the feeling of finally remembering. The feeling of celebrating an extremely joyous occasion at home with your people can be attached to the same palpable feeling of excitement rotating through BKhz on that opening nigh, in which the team had create an indoor forest of living, breathing plant life to accompany – an immersive experience, situating the viewer in the garden itself.
To speak a bit more on Tshabala’s artistry and technique – her work primarily consists of using acrylic and oil paints in order to create her signature dreamlike dark-figures. Immediately once I saw a Tshabalala artwork for the first time, it reminded me of the work of the American legendary Black fine artist, Kerry James Marshall. So, when researching Tshabalala’s discography for this article, it was reaffirming to come across the following on her artist bio on Artsy:
“Zandile Tshabalala’s arresting figurative works write new narratives around the roles that Black women play in art history. Inspired by artists like Kerry James Marshall, Henri Rousseau, and Njideka Akunyili-Crosby, as well as personal experiences, Tshabalala says her portraits are meant to “to re-represent the Black woman in a more confident, sensual, beautiful manner.”
Using acrylic and oil paints, her dark-skinned figures recline on taupe chaise lounges and cloudlike cream duvets, or are situated within teeming, dreamlike landscapes reminiscent of Rousseau’s Post-Impressionist paintings. By situating her figures within settings that were painted over and over again throughout the history of art—landscapes, sensual boudoirs, the artist’s studio—Tshabalala deliberately inserts Black women into the canon that had previously excluded, marginalised, and disrespected them.”
And the artist continues to infiltrate the global art diaspora and spread her wings, showing no signs of slowing down the creative momentum which she has managed to amass over the past few years. Not too long ago, she formed part of a group exhibition at the prestigious Art Basel exhibition in Switzerland, and is now concurrently running another exhibition, ‘In search of my mother’s garden’, at Kunstmuseum Magdeburg, a prestigious art museum in Germany.
Tshabalala is the embodiment of what it means to be an emerging global talent – a young artist who valiantly promotes her African heritage, and empowers where she comes from.
‘Lovers in a secret place’ is on until 20 August at BKhz Gallery in Johannesburg.
