Simphiwe Buthelezi
South Africa
B. 1996
“I am always cognisant of the sacredness that the reed mat holds to the indigenous populace in different parts of the world. I am also fascinated by how a single object can unravel and become a myriad of different forms. Just like the people to whom this artefact belongs, it is limitless, boundless, free to take any shape, enduring the pressure applied to it.”
Simphiwe Buthelezi is an installation artist and sculptor, who utilises traditional Zulu ‘icansi’ (hand-woven reed mats), glass beads and ‘tankrali’ (Zulu seed beads) to engage with the existential undertaking of “ukubuyela e masisweni” or “returning to the source”. Reed mats, leather, beads, metal compounds and cotton canvas are endlessly reworked, reconsidered and reshaped through her meticulous craftsmanship and the repetitive processes of cutting, folding, sewing and bonding. While the established conceptual threads of Buthelezi’s oeuvre begin in cultural dynamics and African Spirituality, her practice is grounded in a relentless exploration of materiality and form. For Buthelezi, these multifaceted, intergenerational objects are a continuation of what came before, and her practice of mending, reshaping and nurturing ‘icansi’ & ‘tankrali’ acts as not only a practical exploration but also a spiritual interrogation of material and form. Here, thinking & making are entangled activities, a combination of Buthelezi’s understanding of materiality, underpinned by her sensitivity to the traditional roles and practices that have informed her art-making.
Born in 1996 in Benoni, South Africa, Buthelezi received her National Diploma in Fine Art at the University of Johannesburg in 2017, after which she was awarded the 2018 Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize, culminating in a residency at The Bag Factory Artist Studios in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In 2023, Buthelezi presented her first European exhibition titled Izinyathelo zabagcotshiweyo (Footsteps of the Ordained) in the Galeries Émergentes sector, at Paris+ par Art Basel at the Grand Palais Éphémère, in Paris, France. She also presented Imvuselelo Yenkululeko (The World is Changing) as part of the Solo Section at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair at the CTICC in Cape Town, South Africa in the same year. Buthelezi’s other solo presentations include: Imvuselelo Yenkululeko / Freedom’s Domain at SMAC in Stellenbosch, South Africa in 2020 and Lala La, curated by Chumisa Ndakisa, at The Bag Factory Studios in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2019. Selected collections comprise of: Fondation H in Antananarivo, Madagascar; University of Cape Town in Cape Town, South Africa; Southern African Fellowship for Contemporary Art and the Bonanate Collection in Turin, Italy. In the second half of 2024, Buthelezi will participate in the SAFFCA Residency in partnership with ENSAV La Cambre, in Belgium, Brussels.
