Nicholas Hlobo is a South African artist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He explores ethnicity, masculinity, and sexual identity through his large sculptural structures and works on paper. Hlobo draws inspiration from post-apartheid South Africa and his own Xhosa culture. In one of his exhibitions, “Unyukelo”, he creates a moving installation about the search for liberation and escape. The sculptures use the tumbleweed as a metaphor for movement and change, and they are made with copper piping.
The title of the installation, “Unyukelo”, is a word in Hlobo’s mother tongue, isiXhosa, which translates to “The Ladder” in English. For Hlobo, this signifies a change in state of consciousness, and he emphasizes the importance of getting lost as a way to deeper understand ones environment and their place within it. The structures in this installation are poetic depictions of the concept Hlobo asks us to consider.
Nicholas Hlobo, Untitled, brass, bronze, copper and rope
2018
Nicholas Hlobo, Untitled, brass, bronze, copper and rope
2018
Nicholas Hlobo, Untitled, brass, bronze, copper and rope
2018