"The future of our world relies on people working together and not against one another."
Gymnastic performance as allegory for artistic practice.
While Nkosi is best known as a painter, her practice spans multiple mediums including film, installation and performance. In her paintings, clean, geometric blocks depict scenes of people and architecture in the artists’ signature colour palette of calming pastel tones. Nkosi uses oil on canvas, carefully layering her compositions over time in a process she likens to meditation.
In contrast to the tranquil aesthetic of her work, Nkosi’s practice confronts complex and often chaotic notions of identity, race, power, memory, migration, and athleticism. Gymnasts in particular are an important symbo...
Bio
Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi, born 1980, was raised between New York, USA; Harare, Zimbabwe and Johannesburg, South Africa - where she lives today.
Did you know?
The artist was born into exile. Her father was a member of the Pan Africanist Congress and the narrative she grew up with was that her family were in America waiting to return home to South Africa, a parallel life waiting in another country. Understandably, her work has been informed by subjects of race, place and identity.
Collections
Works featured in collections around the world including the Dean Collection, USA, the University of Cape Town Art Collection, South Africa, and the Nando’s Collection, UK.
