What happens when a performance artist transfers their talent into the realm of the visual arts? Oupa Sibeko is an established multidisciplinary artist from South Africa, who continuously showcases genre-dexterity in all his projects. A student of the acclaimed performance artist Robin Orlin, Sibeko became well-known for his video art pieces and performances. “MORWALO,” his new solo exhibition at Nel, a Cape Town-based artist-owned gallery, presents a different side of his artistic expression in the form of mixed-media art. The show is on view at Nel through May 16, 2024.
Oupa Sibeko Returns to Nel with a Series of New Mixed-Media Art
Play is an integral part of human development. Let’s take, for example, children who learn to interact with other people in the world around them through games. For Oupa Sibeko, play is an important part of his work because it is that exact child-like playfulness that allows the artist to communicate with the audience so effectively.
Body politics is one of the central themes in Sibeko’s work. By allowing his body to become both the tool that produces art and its object, the South African artist can create performances without any prerequisite structure. Sibeko’s channeling of the joyous frivolity of play allows him to make flexible art that changes together with the world around it and is inclusive of the audience that witnesses its creation.
“MORWALO” presents a selection of mixed-media art that combines various unconventional materials like paint-infused bubble wrap and mosquito nets. Oupa Sibeko incorporates common-place objects that most people encounter daily to create a shared experience with the viewer. Familiar items are enriched with new meanings that appear in the contexts produced by the body of the artist, engaging in the process of play.
Apart from being a prolific artist, Oupa Sibeko teaches and volunteers for various educational initiatives in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has shown his works at numerous art institutions, including the National Art Gallery of Namibia, Wits Art Museum, Wits TPO Gallery, Melville Art Project, Room Gallery, Greatmore Studios, and more. Sibeko has received multiple awards for his outstanding achievements in performance art, such as the David Koloane Award and the Richard Haines All-Rounded Performer Award from the Wits University Humanities Faculty.
“MORWALO” is on view at Nel through May 16, 2024. Do not miss the chance to experience the talent of Oupa Sibeko in person!