South African, 1981–2014
The late Thabiso Sekgala’s contemplative portraits of youth in the former Homelands of South Africa, territories that the National Party administration assigned to black habitants as part of their policy of apartheid, bear witness to the artist’s uncanny feel for the figure in the landscape. The artist’s softly colored images evoke tenderness, even nostalgia, yet speak of their subjects with an unflinching directness. With a constant, compassionate attention to color and light, form, and pattern, Sekgala rendered careful, contemplative portraits of youth. Approaching the figure and the land with utmost respect and dignity, his images tell stories beyond apartheid, visual clichés, and social prejudices.
Carwash under the billboard, Marapyane, former Bophuthatswana
Directory, stone and a throne
Hamaskraal, former Bophuthatswana
Jane Nkuna, Loding, former Kwandebele
Johanna Mthombeni, Loding, former Kwandebele
Kgalabatsane, former Bophuthatswana
Mawilli Thubane, Loding, former Kwandebele
Nklele Machika or Mary Koketse, Sehoko, former Bophuthatswa
Pankop, Passage dividing primary and high school, former Kwandebele
Road divide Guateng and Northwest Province, Hamaskraal, former Bophuthatswana
Samuel or Thulani Msiza, Loding, former Kwandebele
Sitting on koppie during the last days of the strike, Marikana
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