Thato Toeba

Thato Toeba (Born in 1990) is an artist and researcher from Lesotho. Quotes “This is a landmark moment in my young art practice. At 30 I abandoned a PhD in law to focus on making art. To win this award affirms this decision and quells all the doubts and insecurities that came with making such a pivot,” “Coming from Lesotho, this award also affirms our efforts there to build an ecosystem for contemporary art to live and thrive. For Southern African artists, the award is a call and response. Many of our artists have paved the way in illuminating the world to the sensibilities, brilliance and talents of our people. The time is ripe for Southern Africa to take its rightful place as thought leaders in the world and this is one of the ways we get there.” “My work begins with law. Law is how I am intellectually oriented and how I judge the world. I wanted to use legal techniques of making arguments and compelling others but through images, which operate like language,” “By removing images from their original context, mutilating them and deploying them to a new context, I would intervene in our view and acceptance of the ‘normal.’ These ‘new contexts’ are then the arguments which intervene in our consciousness of reality. My art journey has been this attempt to practice law through art and vice versa.” “When making art, I feel like I am pouring out what is within me. My cultural and personal identity are entry points to my relationship with the world, how I understand the world and how the world sees me. So, these two things are very central.” “In engaging with the work, I hope to connect, to see what of my personal is actually public. Images allow us to meet at a collective memory. I wish people can relate while having their own interpretation. Just like music. Music brings us closer to our own experiences… In a way I hope the work reads like songs.” Queer Artist Thato Toeba Wins 2025 FNB Art Prize-MAMBA ONLINE.COM (19 August 2025)