Unearthing the mine ‘swankers’
JOHANNESBURG-born artist Bambo Sibiya’s latest collection of printed artwork is being exhibited at the Underculture Contemporary Gallery in Park Drive.
Sibiya is showing a collection called Umlambo uzwiwa nge dondolo, which explores single parent households and the fashion and culture of mine-workers during the apartheid years.
Sibiya and his two siblings were raised in a township outside Johannesburg by their mother. “The collection is about the issues affecting women and miners, especially with the absence of men in these households, either being completely absent or going off to look for work in the cities and leaving their wives behind with the kids,” Sibiya said in an interview last week.
Sibiya, who is a printmaker, said the collection looked at the sub-culture of mines in terms of music and fashion.
“During those days a group of miners called ‘Swankers’ would parade and model clothes trying to one-up the other guy. This collection delves into that world,” the Springs-based artist said.
Sibiya’s portraits invite viewers to celebrate the promise these faces hold for the world. They document the possibilities that children hold for the future.
The artist won the prestigious Absa L’Atelier Gerard Sekoto Award in 2012, for a piece called Mama Uyimbokodo III.
“I already had a small following of fans but the Gerard Sekoto Award was a stepping stone and now my exhibition is travelling to countries such as Zimbabwe and Botswana and to cities such as this and also Durban and Cape Town,” he said.
Sibiya studied fine art at the Mbira School of Music and Art in KwaThema, Springs, followed by art and graphic design at Benoni Technical College where he developed his love for print making. Underculture director Cedric Vanderlinden described Sibiya as a technically strong artist.
“An artist should be technically strong and sound and excellent in his execution. Bambo’s work is beautiful to look at and when one sees it, one thinks of heritage, culture and history,” Vanderlinden said. His work captures the power of women.
The exhibition may be viewed until May 22 at the Underculture Contemporary Art Gallery at 98A Park Drive.