Zana Masombuka, <em>Nges’rhodlweni: Is’memo 4</em> (detail), 2023.<br>
Giclée print on Hahnemühle FineArt Baryta 325 gsm paper, 56 x 84 cm.
Edition of 8 plus 1 artist's proof.
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© Zana Masombuka. Photo by John Baloy and Bontle Juku.
Zana Masombuka, <em>Nges’rhodlweni: iNothiso 6</em> (detail), 2023.<br>
Giclée print on Hahnemühle FineArt Baryta 325 gsm paper, 60 x 40 cm.
Edition of 8 plus 1 artist's proof.
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© Zana Masombuka. Photo by John Baloy and Bontle Juku.<strong>Zana Masombuka</strong>, <em> Time: Gadesi S'khathi</em> (detail), 2018.<br>Edition of 10, True black and white giclée print on Hahnemühle FineArt Baryta 325 gsm paper, 84 x 56 cm.
<strong>Zana Masombuka</strong>, <em> Proudly South African: Exploration of Identity 6</em> (detail), 2018.<br>Edition of 10, Giclée print on Hahnemühle FineArt Baryta 325 gsm paper, 60 x 40 cm.<h2>ZANA MASOMBUKA: NGES’RHODLWENI: A PORTAL FOR BLACK JOY<br>Available from our Book Store, £10 + P&P</h2>

ZANA MASOMBUKA

Zana Masombuka
Photo: © Jonathan Greet, 2023.
Zana Masombuka, Nges’rhodlweni: eBandla 1, 2023 Giclée print on Hahnemühle FineArt Baryta 325 gsm paper.
120 x 80 cm. Edition of 5 plus 1 artist's proof.
Zana Masombuka, a.k.a. ‘Ndebele Superhero’ is a South African visual artist, living and working between her studio in Johannesburg and her farm in Sterkloop Mpumalanga. Masombuka explores the intersection of identity and culture across a range of different media, including photography, film, sculpture and performance. From these diverse materials, she weaves inspiring visual narratives of arresting aesthetic subtlety, drawing inspiration from her upbringing in the small town of Siyabuswa, in rural KwaNdebele.

Masombuka graduated in international studies from Stellenbosch University, which informs her work with critical thinking from a global perspective. She references Ali A. Mazrui’s statement that Africans need to interpret their history themselves and seek to re-invent Africa on their own terms. Therefore, ‘Ndebele Superhero’ is a platform that has allowed Masombuka to speak of stories on identity, culture, modernity, technology and ritual from the perspective of a 21st-century Ndebele Woman. Her work aims to highlight the evolutionary process of culture, particularly the Ndebele culture, and how it emulates human behavioural patterns as well the various environments that influence its formulation.

Her solo exhibition at October Gallery, Nges’rhodlweni: A Portal for Black Joy showcased a new body of work which displays contemporary narratives of traditional Ndebele ceremonies. The title refers to a special space in the Ndebele household, where people of all ages gather to share in the communion of art, community, and expression. This sacred space permits the manifestation of joy, which is recognised as a prerequisite for the intergenerational exchange of knowledge. Masombuka describes how being present and open to one's community in this preserved space facilitates the growth of knowledge within each individual, something fundamental to the evolution of culture. For the Ndebele community such transmission is not considered linear, but instead is imagined as being cyclical, hence infinite and unbounded.

In her other earlier series, Time: Gadesi S'khathi, Masombuka captures the essence of time, through the metaphorical use of lemons, she hints at the passing on and tensions of generational knowledge and how this informs identity and belonging. In Proudly South African: An Exploration of Identity, Masombuka juxtaposes national symbols with other elements to talk about the ongoing politics of youth identity in South Africa. In 2009: Namba S’khambe, she explores the politics of a ‘seat at the table’ and how capitalism and inequity inform the dynamics of engagement for institutional paradigms.

Masombuka’s work has been exhibited widely across Europe and South Africa, and her photographic series have made a distinct impact at London’s 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in 2022 and 2023. Masombuka has recently completed a residency in Mantova, Italy and has been included in a group show, focused on nature, the cosmos and Black feminist perspectives at M.Bassy, Hamburg. She has been a guest speaker on a variety of talk series, including Taste Makers Africa (Accra, 2020), Almanac Projects (London, 2020), Sandberg Institute (Amsterdam, 2020), Bocconi University (Milan, 2022) and C-Change Festival, (Mantova, 2022)

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View below for career highlights and works for sale by the artist.


 

SELECTED WORKS






 

ZANA MASOMBUKA

Born in 1995, Siyabuswa, South Africa. Lives and works between a shared studio in Johannesburg Gauteng and her farm in Sterkloop Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Selected solo exhibitions
2023   Nges’rhodlweni: A Portal for Black Joy, October Gallery, London, UK
2022   Time+ Nodugwana, Cellar Contemporary, Trento, Italy
2021   Sembach Gallery in Association with Fine Art Africa, online exhibition, Cape Town, South Africa
Selected solo exhibitions
2024   Transvangarde: Free Style Cipher, October Gallery, London, UK
Akwande: still coming of age, Sakhile&Me, Frankfurt, Germany
2023   Transvangarde: Pushing Boundaries, October Gallery, London, UK
Who Are We If Not Nature, M.Bassy, Hamburg, Germany
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Somerset House, London, with October Gallery, London, UK.
COZY: Comfortable in My Skin, Gallery OCA in collaboration with October Gallery, Cromwell Place, London, UK
2022   In The Light, October Gallery, London, UK
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Somerset House, London, with October Gallery, London, UK.
Milan Image Art Fair, Giovanni Bonelli Galleria, Milan, Italy
Women in Art, Victoria Yards Art Studios, Johannesburg, South Africa
Booming Contemporary Art Fair, Cellar Contemporary, Bologna, Italy
2021   Coming of Age, Sakhile&Me, online exhibition, Frankfurt, Germany
Women's Month Exhibition, Julie Miller Contemporary, Johannesburg, SouthAfrica
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, online exhibition, with Sakhile&Me, Cape Town, South Africa
Photo London, online exhibition, Sakhile&Me, Cape Town, South Africa
LATITUDES Viewing Room, online exhibition, Latitudes, Johannesburg, South Africa
Into The Fold, Doyle Wham, London, UK
2020   Co-Existence, Investec Cape Town Art Fair,Cape Town, South Africa, with ARP Residency in association with Centro Luigi Di Sarro, Rome, Italy
2019   Inaugural Edition of the Underline Show’19, Museum of African Design, Johannesburg, South Africa
Africa A.Live, ParisJoburg,Paris, France
“2009: Kwabafileko” (Sound and Scent Installation) CO-EXISTENCE, Satellite,Cape Town South Africa
“2009: Umjaphethe Wenzani?” (Video Installation) CO-EXISTENCE, Suburbia Contemporary, Granada, Spain
2018   Winter Art Collective’18, Julie Miller Art Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa
Spring Art Collective’18, Julie Miller Art Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa

OCTOBER GALLERY ARTISTS