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.
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.
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.
My work used to focus on migration. However, it was a way to depict the human condition. Thus, it is not all about migration but more about the human condition. For me, the human condition gathers the inequalities existing between individuals. This notion also includes the way they consider each other. For a year now, my work has been exploring the topic of raw materials to depict this human condition
So I think it’s very right for artists to engage in politics in their work just like they deal with other issues in their society, it’s still their mandate. At the end of the day, politics affects everyone, if there is a rise in sugar prices, I don’t know if artists don’t take tea or don’t use sugar. If there is insecurity in the country, the artists won’t even create, so we have to talk about these issues so that there is a change.