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Toyin Ojih Odutola: A Countervailing Theory

ToyinA Pull_at_the_Back_of_the_Mind, 84 X 50 inches, 2019, courtesy Jack Shainman

Using only drawing materials such as pencil and charcoal, Ojih Odutola tackles the body of work much like a poem or novel. The artist was said to spend months crafting images that created a structure similar to chapters of a novel.

Christabel Johanson on Nigerian-American artist Toyin Ojih Odutola
Toyin Ojih Odutola, A Pull at the Back of a Mind, 2019 © Toyin Ojih Odutola. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

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Mphe Mphe ya Lapisa: a solo by Levy Pooe

PooaTheBarbershop2020

The work of Levy Pooe is beautiful and agonizing at the same time depending on your sensibilities. It is layered and many things at the same time. It presents a mirror for you to look at and decide what you see, but remember reflections are not always accurate.

Mbe Mbhele on the work of Levy Pooe
The Barbershop, 2020

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Moira Bushkimani

Tewa1

I grew up in a neighbourhood next to Kibera, so even as a child I found some joy looking for treasures in heaps of trash with my childhood friends. I would then take these objects back home and tell elaborate stories about them. So using found objects has always been a norm.

Thadde Tewa meets Moira Bushkimani from Kenya.
Moira Bushkimani posing with her work | Courtesy the artist

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Mncedi Madolo

MadoloIV Jungle

Mncedi Madolo’s work has so much room for growth and so much incredible potential to explore the mediums, subject matters, and materials in ways that will truly enrich his work. If one has time, please do visit his studio at Ellis House Art Building or search for his work online to make your own judgment.

Athi Mongezeleli Joja on the South African artist Mncedi Madolo
Jungle IIV

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Lisolomzi Pikoli

PikoliRhizomes2020

The figures in the exhibition were expressed in a way that concretized their historic circumstances as black bodies. Being immersed in a space that welcomes their lack of navigating their bodies in a culture that makes what is visual pedagogic.

Themba Tsotsi on the South African artist Lisolomzi Pikoli.
Rhizomes, 2020

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