Zandile Tshabalala

Zandile Tshabalala (born 1999) is a South African fine art painter. Quotes I’ve been thinking a lot about what happens to the work after they leave the studio. Is the intended narrative translated closer to what I wanted or does the work fail to translate its own meaning? I hope that all of these things, these references, kind of help whomever that is engaging with the work to understand what the work is about and what time it is referencing The actual work begins in how you actually choose interpret and mesh everything up to create new meaning or resurface already existing meaning Paint is really forgiving so mistakes are never really mistakes you can always find a way to make it work with paints I think musicians are honestly the most interesting creatives because they are able to ignite all of our human senses I can’t think of a better way to try to create than to create from a place of obsession and emotions I sympathize with women, I sympathize with my mother and grandmother and I sympathize with myself I needed to see very particular images of blackness and womanhood that spoke to where I wanted to be My initial approach was to paint resting women, always seated or reposed on loungers. This was my protest against the sea and notions that rest was taboo for black women The gaze was a conversation and an affirmation to the figure. It has softened over the years as I feel like the work of black visibility within the painting canons has been done, and whilst there is still a need for varying our stories, I no longer feel the need to prove or push I create a lot from a place of genuine love and I hope it shows in the gaze of my figures. I believe that inspiration is everywhere, it is how you use it that matters the most An Artist Interview #37 n.d In the early stages, my practice was heavily influenced by a lack I felt I experienced during my art history lessons and my own life at the time. The lack was of Blackness, women and an overall presence I desired to see imagery of bold Black women who are comfortable in just being as they are and are keen to explore their multiple interests and interactions in their everyday life Wary of putting every Black woman under one umbrella and assigning an assumed way of being I have resorted to self portraiture and telling narratives of desires, love, experiences I have gained outside of my spaces of familiarity, relationships both romantic and platonic and overall just simple curiosities I think this approach and lack of linearity is a true reflection of what it means for me to be a Black woman and what kind of access, whether it be spaces, knowledge or people, is available to me in the world today Interview: Zandile Tshabalala Challenges Art History’s Depictions Of Black Womanhood 16 January 2023 I do believe that the youth has always been involved in addressing injustices and still are very much invested and passionate in change making there is still quite a lot to be done but as a current youth I do believe that every attempt and engagement is not done in vain but is very much impactful no matter the magnitude of that impact, the fighting spirit of the youth should continue and be carried forward until the state of egalitarianism (equality) is reached I wouldn’t say that the case of George Floyd has inspired an uncompromising horror rather it has inspired and evoked the need for change and yet again this state of equality Although the challenges faced by Africans in different parts of the world slightly differ with some needing more urgency than the other (in my own country gender based violence being on top of the list) it does not change the fact that black lives matter whether it be the lives of black queers, the lives of black women or the lives of black men I think that art and protest is one way of addressing and attempting to combat racial injustices me existing as a young African woman who is very much present in the arts is a protest in itself, if we were to think about the history of art making with relation to race and gender I am very much interested in the centralization of the black woman in my works. I do want narratives of us being more than just servants and inferior (as it was previously depicted) to be carried forward and internalized and thus have chosen to re-represent the black woman in a more confident, sensual, beautiful manner touching a bit on the importance of being able to dream, to be and celebrate and embrace the self as is, unapologetically so I think works that embrace us African women should continue to be made, there is always a need for more and different perspectives and experiences of the black women In conversation with Zandile Tshabalala   n.d Studying art was a way for me to rebel My paintings are very reflective of me as an artist, and sometimes there are clues in there as to how I think and who I am Enter Paradise an interview with Zandile Tshabalala 12 March 2021 Category:1999 births Category:Painters from South Africa