Nicholas Hlobo
Nicholas Hlobo is a South African artist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was born in 1975 in Cape Town. He earned a Bachelor of Technology from Technikon Witwatersrand in 2002. He creates large sculptural works that are expansive masses that at once feel oozey, voluptuous, and highly structured. Through his work, he navigates his identity as a gay Xhosa man in South Africa and reevaluates the definitions of masculinity and sexuality in his country. The variance between femininity and masculinity is created by his use of materials such as rubber inner tubes, ribbon, organza, lace, and found objects. Hlobo cuts and sews objects back together to symbolize the idea of the healing that comes after a tearing apart in order to express his interest in the history of colonization in South Africa as well as the overt and covert ways that colonization occurs in modern life. Early life Nicholas Hlobo was born in Cape Town, South Africa, but grew up in Dutywa on the Eastern Cape, a region previously known as the Transkei during the Apartheid era in South Africa. Raised by his maternal grandmother, Hlobo recalls her being very strict, yet also the source of many of his values concerning love and wisdom. Despite her passing in 1985, the “rebel, and most probably a feminist,” in Hlobo's own words, continued to influence him through instilling in him to stay true to himself always. As a male born into a colonial Zulu culture, Hlobo was both baptized in a Christian church, as an infant, and made an imbeleko in a Xhosa tradition that introduces young Xhosa men to the spiritual realm. The artist was also given two names : Nicholas and Batandwa, which means "beloved" or "beloved people" in Xhosa. In an interview with journalist Malka Gouzer, Hlobo recalls the origin of his artistic journey, which began with the young boy killing time by drawing the human body as it appeared in his imagination. He moved to Johannesburg as a young adult in 1995, one year after Nelson Mandela was elected as South African president and ended Apartheid. Significant artworks One of Hlobo's most well-known artworks, Fak'unyawo, ties together the feminine and masculine identities through material. The use of fluid material and overall aura blend metaphorical and literal features within the artwork. This piece was created using ribbon, leather, and a wooden shoe lace on cotton canvas. The title itself means "insert your foot." According to an interview recorded for the video series Art21, Fak'unyawo interprets the idea of "testing the water" or having the courage to "take the chance." The composition incorporates the heel of the shoe and it extends into the stitched lines of thread. Awards Hlobo is the winner of the 2006 Tollman Award for Visual Art. His honors and residencies also include the Standard Bank Young Artist Award (2009) and Rolex Visual Arts Protégé (2010–11). He was a finalist for the Future Generation Art Prize in 2010. In 2010, Hlobo was selected as a protégé