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Artist Name:
Dumisani Sibisi
Location:
Soweto South Africa
Date of Birth:
March 1962
Dumisani attended the Emaweni Primary School,
where he started copying drawings from textbooks. At the tender age of
nine, he started sketching everything around him. Thereafter, he
attended Enkanyezini Higher Primary School
where an art teacher gave lessons as part of the curriculum.
While studying technical drawings at Jubalani Technical
High School, he met Sydney
Khumalo and Ezrom Legae and was asked to join them at their studios
where he worked with them for three years. He had left the High School
and now participated in joint exhibitions with them and other artists at
the Community Halls in Soweto.
In 1986 he taught art part-time for two years and assisted the teachers
at Winnie Ngwekazi, a programme sponsored by DuPont. He was commissioned
in 1990 to do illustrations for James Sofasonke Mpanza, the "Father of
Soweto".
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In 1975 he won an award in the Maize Board Art Competition
Groupshow SA as well as at the Association of Art Johannesburg
1977
In 1989 taught art and Craft part-time to assist the teachers at
Winnie Ngwekazi, this was sponsored by Du Pont.
His collages and three-dimensional images are chiefly of the
townships, which Sibisi paints only to record a particular
reality, actually wishing for it to disappear. Sibisi does not
idealize, showing plainly the poverty and deprivation that
millions of black Africans continue to struggle with. He
collects the scraps, wastes and off cuts that litter township
streets and incorporates them into his paintings, recycling
discarded materials and giving them a new function. His streets
are starkly empty but for a few monumental figures, burdened by
the physical loads they are forced to carry as they walk for
miles to their destination, or wait to catch a taxi. Township
houses are covered with ads for detergent and toothpaste, while
the roofs, as in reality protrude with corrugated metal and
well-dented motor vehicles.
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Despite the bleakness of such images which Sibisi paints in a muddy brown and grey palette there
prevails a message of hope. A dove with an olive branch carries
a potent message: let there finally be peace in this broken
land. He has sold works both locally in
South Africa and abroad.
Exhibitions:
1990-2001: Exhibitions in Joburg, Australia, Portugal
and USA
1994: "Creating Peace from the Pieces", Natalie Knight Gallery
1993: "Cultural Diversity" Natalie Knight Gallery,
Toronto
1992: "Art, Craft Jazz for Africa" in Pretoria
1990: "Leading African Artists" Exhibit, Dom Pedro Marina, Portugal
1990: "Contemporary Artist" Exhibit, Australia
1990: Tour with South African Black Businessmen, U.S.A.
1989: "Contemporary Artists" show at
the Serependity gallery
1977: Groupshow SA Association of Art Johburg
Awards:
1975: Won an award in the Maize Board Art Competition
Notable events:
2002: Dumsani created one of the adverts on billboards placed all over
SA to welcome the British Cricket team to the ICC week
2001: Commissioned to do book cover for the book of languages for MBV
consulting group
1990: Commissioned to do illustrations for the "James Sofasonke Mpanza,
The Father of Soweto" book
1984 : Detained during the public violence at Jabulani because of the
political nature of his drawings and paintings at that time
Click here to view
Dumisani's paintings
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Kalahari
Hoodia Gordonii
Pure South
African