Trevor Makhoba
Trevor Makhoba’s art is uniquely grounded in his experience of life and contemporary events in KwaZulu-Natal. He reflects on this experience, as Andy Mason has noted, with elements of the satirical ‘that combines social realism with the surreal’.1 Another recent observation on his work locates it within the traditions of black art in KwaZulu-Natal, as an extension of the work of Gerard Bhengu (qv.) for example, as ‘the persistence of a romantic realism’ that reflects a “popular language that is accessible and lucid”.2 At the same time his work is a good example of how black artists have left the ‘struggle aesthetic’ behind them and embraced current issues, dealing with the realities of a highly complex and diverse multicultural society. These new themes are well-reflected in the many examples of his work in the Campbell Smith Collection, ranging from gender issues and sexual taboos to HIV/AIDS, recent history and the spiralling crime rate in post-apartheid South Africa. The strong tendency to narrative in his art is rooted in what Juliet Leeb-du Toit refers to as ‘contemporary oral discourse which functions as a vital vocabulary that relates cultural, political and personal experience’. Read More…
