South African Indian Artists
Amita Makan is an artist who wields a needle as skillfully as she uses a paintbrush. This is evident in the embroidered portrait, Loose Ends: A Story about my Mother, featured above. Makan has exhibited her beautifully detailed work in several solo and group exhibitions in South Africa and internationally. Her art can be found in many... Continue Reading →
Reshma Chhiba is a visual artist and an accomplished Bharata Natyam dancer who finds creative expression in both artforms. Visitors entering the FNB Slow Lounge at King Shaka Airport in Durban may recognise Chhiba's photographic work Kali Tandava hung in the entrance. She is also the Creative Director of the Sarvavidya Natyaalaya, an organisation that teaches... Continue Reading →
Andrew Nair is an artist whose ability to create incredibly detailed photo-realistic images using a humble pencil is remarkable, as is evident in the featured drawing above titled Home Alone. Nair has exhibited his work in many exhibitions and his drawings are part of several collections, including that of the Tatham Gallery and Durban Art... Continue Reading →
Voyage is the title of the current exhibition at the Art in the Yard Gallery in Franschoek. It runs from 1st to the 26th September and features several artists, among them Vanessa Berlein, Tendai Nhavira, and Sheekha Kalan. The theme of the exhibition is the Voyage and sets out to explore the idea that the goal of... Continue Reading →
Usha Seejarim is probably best known as the artist who created the 2 m high, beaded portrait of Nelson Mandela which formed the backdrop to his state funeral in 2013. One of the most visible South African Indian artists, she creates multimedia works and is responsible for curating exhibitions, holding workshops and creating large scale public... Continue Reading →
Moments before Death is an exhibition currently on until the 21 August at the Artbox Gallery in Pretoria. There are 4 artists featured in the exhibition – Will Roux, Nellien Brewer, Mia van Wyk, and Poorvi Bhana. In interpreting the theme 'moments before death', the artists examine the fragility of life and the fact that we... Continue Reading →
Faiza Galdhari is a printmaker whose works examine the traditional roles and identities of women. Although she is no longer a practising artist, her thought-provoking works are a part of our art heritage as evidenced by the fact that she is the only Indian woman artist included in the visual arts syllabus in South African... Continue Reading →
Re-membering: Memory, Intimacy and Archive, an exhibition by Sharlene Khan, Reshma Chhiba and Jordache Ellapen is currently on at the Michaelis Gallery in Cape Town. Each of these artists use their personal experience to explore ideas about memory, race, class, gender and sexuality in South Africa. Sharlene Khan incorporates video-art, digital photography and needle work... Continue Reading →
Usha Seejarim in front of her installation titled HerdArtist Usha Seejarim presented an installation called Keepers of the Common at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair (ICTAF) in February 2018. Seejarim uses domestic objects – clothes pegs, hangers, steam irons or brooms to create her sculptures. Triangle, sculpture with brooms. Cow Head. Hanger, iron. These everyday ‘common’ items are usually used... Continue Reading →
REFUGE Twin bothers Hasan and Husain Essop showed their work at an exhibition called Refuge at the Goodman Gallery in August 2017. The Muslim brothers who are from Cape Town used this exhibition to raise questions about what it means to be Muslim in... Continue Reading →
Curating Culture 