Art Blog

Durban artist Mondli Mbhele wins 2022 Sasol New Signatures with work exploring the dynamics of protests

Full-time artist Mondli Mbhele from Durban has been announced as the winner of the 2022 Sasol New Signatures Art Competition. Mbhele won the coveted title for his work titled Iphasi nesiphesheli, which is part of a bigger series titled Umlando uyaziphinda, meaning "history repeats itself". He is a member of Amasosha Art Movement, a collective of young Durban artists that promotes hard work and solidarity amongst fellow artists.

The series of mixed-media works is inspired by various iconic events from South Africa's history. Mbhele explores how newspapers carry the events and stories of people but once people read it they throw it away. He collects those stories and recycles them into a new form of art that will endure; a new dialogue that will never be destroyed again.

In his winning work, Mbhele explores the dynamics of protests in contemporary South Africa. The brightly coloured collage is a snapshot of an ominous moment in a protest wherein a person is lying lifeless on the ground, yet no one seems alarmed.

Sasol has been the proud sponsor of the New Signatures competition for 32 years, which was established by the Association of Arts Pretoria in the late 1960's. The competition received the highest number of submissions in it's long history. Mbhele walks away with a cash prize of R100 000 and an opportunity to have a solo exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum in 2023.

Omolemo Rammile from Bloemfontein was crowned runner-up and awarded R25 000 for her work entitled Mére célibataire (single mom), which pays tribute to her mother and acknowledges the personal sacrifices she makes on a daily basis as a sole provider and breadwinner for her twin daughters. Bread is universally considered a staple food source. The artist uses embossed bread tags to symbolise the 'daily bread' her mother buys to feed her family. The multiple imprints of the bread tag on the paper are akin to the lasting impact and inner mark that the mother's love has left on the artist and her family.

The 5 Merit award winners are:

• Rohini Amratlal (Durban), Unveiling the archive, Epoxy resin, wood, 'Icansi' (grass mat)
• Linde Kriel (Bloemfontein), [REST]ROOM, Copperplate etching
• Malik Mani (Upington), From the concrete grew a rose, Pencil on Arches paper
• Herman Pretorius (Pretoria), Instructures, Archival prints & computer installation
• Andrea Walters (Durban), #OverMyDeadBody 1, Sunlight soap & Perspex & #OverMyDeadBody 4, Hospital gurney, embroidered shroud & speaker

Each Merit Award winner received a R10 000 cash prize.

"The judges at both the regional and final judging round were inspired and impressed by the diversity of narratives and boldness in artistic vision evident in some of the submissions.We were particularly encouraged by the increased number of entries received from artists who did not attain formal university art education. This speaks volumes of the creative energy and passion to produce art that exists in all quarters of the country, and it is critical that we provide platforms for this creativity to be seen and celebrated," added Pfunzo Sidogi, Chairperson of the Sasol New Signatures Competition.

Supernature: Simulacra, the solo exhibition by multidisciplinary artist Andrea du Plessis and winner of Sasol New Signatures 2021, also opened at the Pretoria Art Museum. This exhibition is a deepening of her research into the sublime experience and the complex relationship with nature in an age marked by technological augmentation and simulation. As an extension of the Supernature series, Du Plessis began in 2020; the work features an exploration of emerging technologies in combination with traditional oil painting to create interactive, immersive realms as well as an encyclopaedia of hybrid lifeforms. Supernature: Simulacra aims to offer the viewer an opportunity to consider our interconnectivity with the natural world and examines the possibility of reconnecting to nature via technology.

Andrea du Plessis' solo exhibition and the Sasol New Signatures Art Competition exhibition, featuring the work of the 2022 winners and finalists, take place at the Pretoria Art Museum from 25 August until 2 October 2022. All the finalists are included in the highly respected competition catalogue. The full exhibition is also available to view virtually on the website