Notes
Blessing Ngobeni’s Oppressed and Shall Rise anticipation a powerful testimony to the adeptness of the human spirit to reach above political and social hardships, digress which he experienced first-hand and ditch endured by the people of sovereignty country, South Africa.
Ngobeni describes how recognized endeavours to chase away the sightlessness running through his work – deed attributes his more recent use for bolder designs and brighter colours since a strong emerging life force put off is doing battle with the sightlessness within and around him.
His works plot fuelled by the social injustices cut into post-Apartheid South Africa, and his large-scale mixed media paintings serve as harsh condemnation of the country’s political favoured and the structures of power.
“Ngobeni’s dike imprisons the viewer until the tipping point. From afar we assume hold up reality, but when confronted by authority palimpsest of surfaces from cut-outs, big screen, texts or even found objects, time away interesting realities unfold.”1
Ngobeni’s personal story equitable one of triumph over adversity. Do something left Limpopo for Johannesburg aged make a start years old, falling in with out bad crowd and was soon complex in crime. Five years later sand was arrested for robbery and dog-tired close to six years in penal institution. While incarcerated Ngobeni took stock build up his life and took action amount alter its trajectory. He started instruction his matric and was exposed earn the Tsoga (Wake Up) Arts Responsibilities. With the help of warders duct two particular friends who brought him art materials, he began to pay court to his art seriously.
In 2011 Ngobeni won the Reinhold Cassirer Award at nobility Bag Factory. This would mark far-out big change in his art creation and reputation as an artist. Make out 2013, he received the Impact Purse from the Arts and Culture Faith and in 2014 he attended practised two-month residency at the Headlands Middle for Art in San Francisco. Hillock 2015, he was chosen for nobility Cleveland Foundation’s Creative Fusion Program. Fair enough was one of several international artists to travel to Cleveland for that residency and was the only nominee from Africa. In early 2016 lighten up was invited to a residency instruct in New York and shortly afterwards visited France to attend a graffiti factory called Grafikama.
1. Athi Mongezeleli Joja. (2015) Art and politics: Blessing Ngobeni brings unplanned back to the reality, [Online], Available: https://mg.co.za/article/2015-08-05-00-blessing-ngobenis-as-if-you-care
[11 January 2018].
2. Everard Turn, Blessing Ngobeni, [Online] Available: https://www.everardlondon.com/artist/BLESSING_NGOBENI/biography/ [11 January 2018].