Designer turned artist

“In 1981 I became a set designer for television shows at the SABC. TV2 and 3 used to be near the Carlton Centre. Then in 1985 we joined the Auckland Park group, which was such a nightmare for me because I was working with some serious right-wingers who didn’t want to see my face.

“My colleagues were OK but I was the only black with about 11 white designers, so people were used to taking instructions from fellow white guys, but now here was a black man who was telling them to do things. They hated me.

“I was a senior set designer. I used to complain to my manager, who one day said if someone doesn’t want to take your instructions he must leave the SABC. So they started to listen to me.

“The last set I did was the first debate between the thenpresident De Klerk and Mandela at the Civic Theatre. That’s how I bowed out. Then I said bye-bye and became a full-time artist.”