S'Celo Hlongwa
Hlongwa, like other followers of Trevor Makhoba (qv.), such as Themba Siwela (qv.), is an artist concerned with social issues. Whereas Siwela shows a more humorous approach to these in his work, Hlongwa takes a more serious stance, questioning ‘positive’ aspects of the new South Africa. In Aphamadoda (Where are the men?) (plate 55) he interrogates the new policies intended to give equal status to women in society and representivity at all levels. Hlongwa’s painting shows female refuse collectors at work, highlighting the incongruity of women performing a task that was normally assigned only to men. The artist’s disapproval of this is emphasised by the polemical title that he gives to the painting, as well as his own words: ‘Men are usually stronger than women. Nowadays it seems as if our physical strength is the same – it is not. The painting shows the reduction of the dignity of women in South Africa’. Read More…
