Lindokuhle Khumalo

About the artist

Lindokuhle Khumalo is a visual artist who lives and works in Durban, South Africa. After finishing school at the Ubuhlebesizwe Secondary School in 2013, Khumalo studied art at the BAT Centre, an arts and culture community centre in Durban. In 2015, he started to focus on his career in art and in 2016, he was selected to participate in a residency at Rorke’s Drift Art and Craft Centre where he studied textile printing and weaving under the mentorship of Swedish artist, Marlin Sellmen. He was intrigued by different materials during his residency, he started out using charcoal in his earlier works and eventually began to use acrylic as he developed his visual language into the meticulous portraits we see today.

Khumalo’s work has been included in international art fairs and exhibitions including 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in England, Also Known As Africa (AKAA) Art Fair in France, Investec Cape Town Art Fair in South Africa and Art X Lagos Art Fair in Nigeria.

 

Sources of inspiration

Khumalo’s relatives are the greatest sources of inspiration for his work. He has a close relationship with his last-born sister in particular – her sense of wonder and imagination often inspires Khumalo and their shared outlook on contemporary social issues has led her to become his most recent muse.

The colour green is often used in Khumalo’s work as a symbol of hope. As Khumalo explains, ‘my mother is the only elder left in the family. Every time she performs traditional Nguni rituals, she uses green candles as a symbol for success and hope. So to me, green is an intimate, almost spiritual pigment that’s essential for me to incorporate into my art.’  

Another recurring motif in Khumalo’s work is a video-camera in the place of his subjects’ heads. As Khumalo explains, ‘our history as Africans has not always been accurately recorded... it’s for us to record and narrate it in a way that is right for us.’
 

Artist intentions

Khumalo views his work as an internal dialogue between himself, as an artist and cultural commentator, and the underprivileged black youth he says he sees himself in. His green figures are used to start that dialogue, subtly commenting on topics such as materialism, artificiality and consumerism in modern society.


Going forward

“I’m currently focusing on continuing to develop my skills, staying loyal to my vision and my reasons for becoming an artist in the first place” – Lindokuhle Khumalo