An interview with Sifiso Mkhabela

Published 11 March 2024 in Artists Interviews

By Nolan Stevens

As the curator of the Deconstructed series of month-long solo exhibitions, I caught up with Sifiso Mkhabela ahead of the opening of his solo exhibition, Concrete Cocoon, to find out about his process ahead of the April showcasing. 

Sifiso will be opening the Deconstructed solo exhibition series that strips down each artist’s practice to their bare bones, allowing them to experiment with different mediums  and processes.

The artist and Asisebenze curator Alan Stevens discuss his works

This is what Sifiso had to share:

Nolan Stevens: Most of the artists here and most of your clients would know you as a sculptor, am I right? I’m asking because I’m trying to figure out if the clients coming to see this exhibition would view it as an incredibly different showcasing of what they’re used to seeing?

Sifiso Mkhabela: Not necessarily. Because I see myself as an artist that is constantly changing, shifting and adjusting (the way I work).

Artist Sifiso Mkhabela who will be inaugurating the 'Deconstructed' series of solo shows at Asisebenze.

NS: So how are you changing in this exhibition, what is the central theme connecting the works on the upcoming show?

SM:  I want to speak about a journey. Going from one point to another, but also somehow place it within the city of Johannesburg. This exhibition will be about life in this city and how it is being at the beginning of your journey to that point where you finally see a way through the hardship and difficulty. Think of it like a map – but I want to include a little bit of politics.

 

NS: With this exhibition exploring moving from one point to another, what are the points you are moving from specifically in the city?

SM: For me it’s more of a subsistence kind of an issue; moving towards a more sustainable position as an artist.