The winners of this year’s Sasol New Signatures Competition were recently announced, and with that we got the opportunity to find out more about these up-and-coming artists.
Let’s see what they had to say when asked the following questions:
Tell us what your reaction was when you received the news of being one of the top 7.
Nosiviwe Matikinca (overall winner): I froze for a good minute; I was on campus sitting with my classmates. When the news sank in, I screamed and started jumping around, my friends were so lost. I showed them the email and we screamed together. Later I went to tell my lecturers, we were so happy that we even shared a group hug. When I arrived at Res I shared the news with my family, they were so happy and proud of me.
Themba Mkhangeli (runner-up): I was super excited! It’s always been one of my big dreams to achieve something like this in the art industry/world. It means a lot as an artist. I know it’s not easy to even get to be one of the selected regional finalists. Ndiye ndabulela ko Phezulu naku mathobo asekhoya alele ukuthulu.
Taryn Emily Noppé (merit winner): Surprised. I was caught quite off guard on a week that had not started off on a great note. I jumped up and found someone to hug without warning or context.
Matthew David Blackburn (merit winner): I was overjoyed, I couldn’t feel my cheeks from smiling so hard. When the phone call was over I found myself literally dancing on the spot!
Thabo Treasure Mofokeng (merit winner): I was shocked, I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t even react immediately I had to take a couple of minutes for this good news to sink in, then I walked around the yard raising my right fist celebrating in silence because I didn’t want my neighbours to be suspicious because I was told this good news is confidential.
Michelle Czarnecki (merit winner): It came as a complete surprise and I’m still shocked. Honestly, I didn’t even think I would make it past the first round.
Ofentse Letebele (King Debs) (merit winner): When I received the news, I was truly humble and grateful. This has been a long career milestone. I have also kept the news to myself and haven’t told anyone as I would like to wait for the final announcement. I catch myself romanticising about the competition and dreaming of being chosen as the overall winner, and how life-changing that would be.
Is this the first time you have entered the competition? If so why and if not how many times and why is this competition an important one for you?
Matikinca: Yes, this is my first entry into Sasol New Signatures. I didn’t have much knowledge about the competition. I only heard about it when people in the department spoke about it and as a result, we had to take part in it for one of our school modules. This competition is important for me because it will put my name on the map as an artist. it will allow me to grow as an artist. It brings me joy and excitement to know that someone will know that there is a girl named Nosiviwe out there! I also showed myself that hard work and determination pay off.
Mkhangeli: Yes, this is my first time entering Sasol New Signatures. I have been entering the competition in my heart for many years, but because I respected the standard of the competition, I wanted to develop my skills and knowledge and also give myself time to work on my artwork before actually entering. I was also exploring different mediums so that I could see what worked best for me and to develop my own identity as an artist. 2022 was the worst year ever of my life, losing 4 people which were very close to my heart including my mother. These unexpected challenges delayed me entering the competition in previous years. The competition is very important to me because life is about achieving something. It also helps grow one as an artist in terms of skill development and as a young artist coming from a poor background, it gives hope (iThemba) to kids who want to follow art as a career. It is important because I feel like there’s a lack of support or opportunities from the South African government in visual art so Sasol has given us the opportunity to show the world our amazing talent.
Noppé: It is the first time I have entered this competition. Our visual arts department at NMU stressed the importance of entering competitions like this for growing as artists and getting a feel for the prep work that goes into creating and submitting conceptual pieces. Preparing for the submission of Vertigo was a big learning curve that pushed me out of my comfort zone and enabled me to bring to life an idea that had been swimming around in my mind for a while.
Blackburn: This is my third time entering the competition, persistence is key. Winning a competition like this would jump-start my career, there is the exposure, networking and financial aid, these are all important aspects in becoming a successful artist.
Mofokeng: This is my second time entering – I entered the competition in 2022. Sasol New Signatures is South Africa’s known, trusted and respected competition which has opened many doors for great artists for more than 3 decades and I also believe and trust this competition will do the same for me. This competition will help me to be acknowledged.
Czarnecki: Yes, this is the first time I’ve entered the competition and the first time I’m really showing my work to anyone. Without formal education in the field, I lacked the confidence and it took me some time to find my own artistic voice.
Letebele: This is not the first time, it was the second entry. The reason is that I have always wanted this particular industry accolade. This competition is crucial because it gives one an opportunity to be inducted into the arts industry in a very significant way. This award and recognition comes with the understanding of the artist’s own praxis, and professional acumen that can springboard the artist in the desired career trajectory.
Tell us a little about your artistic journey up until the point of entering Sasol New Signatures 2023?
Matikinca: My mother enrolled herself in a lot of creative short courses, one of which was facilitated by the Learn to Earn community development programme. I remember when she brought her work home, I would watch her work. When some of her fabrics or drawing materials fell on the ground, I would pick them up and imitate what she was doing. One day she decided to bring me more of her left-over materials, and that is when I started creating works of my own, under her supervision. In primary school my teachers used to ask me what I wanted to be when I was older, I replied, “I want to draw and paint the whole day” and my classmates used to laugh at me. For high school, I went to an Arts and culture school, and I enjoyed being there, sometimes my parents could not afford the materials I needed so I got a part-time job so that I was able to assist them with buying the materials. I attended after-school programmes and workshops that were hosted by Enlighten Education Trust and the Peter Clarke Art Centre. I just wanted to learn more. Now I am in university and still learning and experimenting with more materials and learning new techniques, it has been quite a journey.
Mkhangeli: It was not an easy journey at all. Apart from being an artist, I came from a poor family and grew up in Mthatha in a small village called Julukuqu. I was raised up by a single parent. She was self-employed, running a business selling sweets, chips, buckets, chickens, and meat for over 35 years. Before going to school each day I had to wake early (5am) and help her pack things. I grew up without a formal training in art. I kept on practicing for myself from a young age. The lack of resources and general knowledge is an issue for us staying in rural communities. 8 years after taking art as a career I became a full-time art artist. Things were going well because I grew so much as an independent artist. I achieved a lot and I was recognised in so many places. I exhibited in many galleries and won a couple of awards. I have done interviews with big newspapers, magazines, and television. After the pandemic things changed and my life started over not only for me but for many people. Things were not easy, but I kept on believing in my dream as an artist. Challenges make us strong and Indoda iwa namhlanje kusasa iphinde ivuke.
Noppé: I did fine art as a subject in high school and my teachers left a lasting impression on me. During the nationwide lockdown in my matric year, while I was at odds with the infinite amount of directions my life could go, I discovered how passionate I was about brainstorming and coming up with creative ways of narrating our overwhelming human existence. This led me to studying at NMU where I continue to encounter intriguing people who stretch my mind and keep me wanting to narrate in different ways.
Blackburn: Throughout my life I have always had artistic abilities, when I was younger I was always seen as the kid who could draw. In high school I took art as a subject and started to experiment with different mediums, mainly chalk pastels, which initially paved the way for my painting style. After school I was unfortunately not accepted to study at university and I went straight into the working world. I had a number of different jobs, but none of them fulfilled me. In 2019 I began to paint again and found my passion. In 2020 I resigned from my job and dived right into being a full time artist. My work was picked up by the Rust en Vrede Gallery and since then I have had multiple group exhibitions and taken part in a number of competitions. Learning and improving along the way, ultimately leading up to this competition.
Mofokeng: My art journey has been the most difficult journey to walk but also worth it. I’ve been trying to get funds, trying to get connections through group exhibitions and through contacting galleries without a solid portfolio, but couldn’t succeed (doors were locked) until last year when I entered Sasol New Signature 2022, things started to change, my confidence was boosted by this competition and it was my first time having a group exhibition (except from school) and it was the best one. This year I’ve been creating artworks with so much enthusiasm having Sasol New Signature in my mind and a month before entering the competition I told myself I would like to create a totally new look and feel art piece, to my surprise it came out amazing. When I looked at it I felt the connection even though the process of creating it was painful, even though I was cut by one of this mirrors I couldn’t stop because I was eager to see the end results and it was worth it. To summarise, I will say my journey up until this point of entering SNS competition has been the journey of Love and Pain.
Czarnecki: I’ve been an undercover artist for as long as I can remember and any free time I had was always dedicated to some kind of creative project. I never considered art as a career because of my own preconceived ideas and a lack of traditional artistic talent, mostly viewing my work as a personal outlet. Only after I had the unfulfilling career and life, I finally allowed myself to explore other options, dappling in floral and installation design and most recently textile art. At age 39, I can confidently say that art is my language.
Letebele: My journey as an artist began in Pretoria, with my first exhibition at a commercial gallery in 2011. Since then I have been working with different galleries, curators and institutions nationally and internationally to cement my practice in the contemporary art discourse at large. At this moment, I am part of a group exhibition in Brooklyn New York, with some of the great artists from around the country. The journey has mostly been about learning the industry and understanding my position as an artist.
Who has had the biggest influence on your career as an artist to date?
Matikinca: My mother has been the biggest influence, sometimes when am back at home, I still go through some of her work as she still creates pieces. People and my environment have also had influences on my work, I find people to be very interesting subject matters, how we act, the emotions we portray and how we express ourselves with different people and environments.
Mkhangeli: My mother, daughter, and so many artists are doing amazing work to keep the standard of art high. Personally, I love artists who put effort, energy, and persistence behind the work they are doing. It motivates me to work hard so that I can to reach where I want to be.
Noppé: There have been numerous artists around the world that have inspired me but I think my greatest influences to date would be my peers and my lecturers. If I were to name specific artists I am drawn to, Wassily Kandinsky has always fascinated me with his noisy paintings of music.
Blackburn: I’ve had number of influences over the years, one of the more recent influences would be Australian artist Robin Eley, he is a master at creating illusions in his work.
Mofokeng: Francisco Goya
Czarnecki: I think it would have to be my late grandmother who fearlessly created throughout her life even after losing her vision. Painting, ceramics and glasswork is what I remember most. I was too young and ignorant at the time to really appreciate or learn from her but I definitely inherited her absolute need to create. Finding her work in forgotten corners now inspires me immensely.
Letebele: My biggest influence has been the South African contemporary scene art at large, mainly how it has been able to produce such amazing artists pre and post the country’s democracy. I have always wanted to be part of that legacy and honour those that have been making art before my time, and connect with my contemporaries in my time while painting new lanes for future legacies.
Tell us a little about why you created the piece you submitted?
Matikinca: My piece is about those learners who come from less privileged backgrounds, and whose parents cannot afford to buy them new school shoes. They wear shoes given to them by their friends and relatives. While collecting these shoes in the township, some people didn’t have an old pair to give me because they only had the one they were currently wearing to school. When I could not meet the targeted number of shoes, I felt discouraged and I felt like I was not conveying my message fully. My lecturer suggested that I make a mould and cast the shoes in slip, a ceramic casting technique. The slip really captured the essence of the shoes, every cut, tear and the journey of each learner. This material is very fragile, and it makes whatever you cast with it a precious piece.
Mkhangeli: I love nature, I created this piece of art because every woman inspires me. Women are powerful, gorgeous, and full of life. I found the twins as a definition of women. The diamond shape between them is a symbol of beauty I always found on women, it also creates a balance between the two figures. Balance is everywhere and powerful and we cannot live without it. The earth is nothing without females. According to the Human Science Research Council, 60% of South African children have absent fathers, 40% of mothers are single parents. There are so many reasons like divorce, death, poverty, and migration but it is because the father would not want to be involved in raising the child, that makes me fall in love more with women and appreciate them because of their struggles and being so hardworking. We as men, need to have a conscience, work with women and respect them so that we can make the world a better place. Our children’s future depends on us all. If we can work together, we can make a huge positive impact towards a better tomorrow. I created this art piece to win the competition.
Noppé: Vertigo is an ode to the dying art of writing with a pen and a response to a fast-paced world that has fast-paced demands. It is the beginning of looking into the world of communications and grappling with how that affects people. Handwriting and specifically writing the alphabet is a small coping mechanism I have developed over time. I have always wanted to see what those little letters would look like if they were all put together on a page.
Blackburn: This piece is part of a larger body of work entitled “Decay”, it is all about how inefficient humans are in comparison to nature. The black bag on the painting has engulfed a forest floor, this is a representation of how plastics are damaging our planet and inevitably suffocating those who inhabit it. I want to bring awareness and change to these issues.
Mofokeng: I saw an opportunity and a platform to express what has been bothering me for the past 10 years, seeing young and old ones committing suicide or consuming drugs to escape their problems and also giving up on themselves by doing nothing daily. Viewing themselves as failures and inferior. I created this piece to remind everyone that we are created to rule our situations, not the other way around. This art piece simply says, “Turn your problems into growth you are the King or Queen of your dreams.”
I created this piece to remind and encourage everyone who is going through a lot that we can use our daily struggles to our advantage, problems are here to build us. I created this piece intentionally for everyone to look at themselves through those mirrors and say, “I can use my today struggle to my advantage.”
Czarnecki: This piece addresses the topic of perspective, passing time, the inability to go back and the power of being really present even in the mundane, everyday moments. For me, this is where we really connect with one another, where change can happen. It’s a hopeful reminder that there is still time both personally and as a society.
Letebele: I believe that the work that I created deserved to be shared on a platform that was beyond my reach. No one in the world has seen the work that I submitted outside of the judges, and I believe this submission would offer a grand reveal. I believed that part of creating is sharing the work, and this competition allowed for a very exclusive reveal of the work that I have been working on lately.
Tell us about your preferred medium/s …and why?
Matikinca: I love working with different materials, literally anything I find. I just never wanted to limit myself to one way of creating art. I collect a lot of stuff when am walking around my area, and school grounds, and I always use these found materials along with others in some of my works.
Mkhangeli: My preferred medium is a blue ballpoint pen. I love pen because it’s one of the unique mediums that not many artists can work with. I use a blue pen to express my love of who I am, because I am a humble person, I am a slow learner and love thing that takes time. Blue is a primary colour. Blue represents both the sea and the sky. It is also used to suggest a connection to nature and symbolizes positivity, professionalism, and trust. It therefore associates a lot with life, stimulates imagination, and freedom, and acts as an inspiration. Growing up as a herder (cowherd) made me the creative person that I am today. Every time the sky was blue, I could feel the positive energy, and at some point in time, I would wish that it stayed like that for longer. This helped me to feel like I had more time to hunt, so I wouldn’t die of hunger, because it becomes difficult to hunt when it is about to darken, because I still was herding cows. Hunting was the only option to survive. It was our way of life. As a creative, the blue sky blinded my eyes and my vision. It turned my mind and stole my heart to only imagine, feel, and see everything as blue. I needed a blue sky day to allow my creativity to flow. Lento isengazi kum.
Noppé: I enjoy a multimedia approach but traditional mediums like charcoal and graphite pencil are my favourite. And of course a trusty 003 or 005 point fine liner!
Blackburn: My preferred medium is acrylic paint, over the years I have made myself very familiar with this medium, most people see the fast drying paint as a disadvantage, I see it as an advantage, it allows me to do multiple layers in short period of time. Building up layers is how I am able to create a refined image.
Mofokeng: I’ve worked with different mediums. I love to explore different mediums and grow through exploring, but I prefer Acrylic Paint mostly because it dries quick, it allows me to flow easily. The was no other better way to pass my message to my viewer’s eyes without using mirrors for them to reflect back to themselves and restore themselves as they stand gazing at this art piece. Mirrors have been used for many centuries, the are many reasons we look at ourselves in the mirror for – and one of the reasons is to fix ourselves.
Czarnecki: My preferred medium is textiles and fibres. I’m really drawn to interesting textures, detail and layers and find endless possibilities in the way these can be manipulated. My technique is slow and rhythmic allowing for both deep focus and tapping into subconscious thought.
Letebele: My preferred medium is sculptural work. I believe it has a unique resonance for me as an artist. The three-dimensionality of the work offers a unique perspective as compared to flat, 2D dimensional work. The sculptural work is also more mentally and physically demanding, and I prefer working with this medium because it forces me to outgrow my comfort zone. I also believe that this medium is more visually interesting to the viewer and connects to spaces in a very dynamic way.
When people view your work – what reaction/response are you hoping to create?
Matikinca: I am hoping that people go down memory lane when they see my work and that they remember a certain person, place, or feeling. I hope they get inspired to create their own stories. I am hoping they realise that there are a lot of ways that one can create art and that they tap into their creative energy and enjoy every moment of it.
Mkhangeli: It’s obvious, a WOW reaction. I want them to connect and feel the process I go through when I create a masterpiece. I want to catch the viewer’s eye so that they can connect with the feelings of that particular subject. I mostly captured faces that tell a long-distance story.
Noppé: I would hope people have the same response I had to Vertigo while I was making it. Slightly disconcerted from a distance. Is there anything on that page? And then one steps closer and then closer again until suddenly one can see the alphabet following its natural order. Until it starts to jumble up and fade out, becoming this matrix looking coded fabric that knots into a confusion of dendrite looking cursive. And if one stares at it long enough, one notices that each letter is handcrafted and hopefully that inspires one to pick up a pen and slow down a bit.
Blackburn: My work has a lot to do with illusions. I love creating paintings that make the viewer question what is real and what is a painting. This also encourages the viewer to visually interact with the art work, which ultimately leads them to the message being portrayed.
Mofokeng: I intentionally created this work with mirrors hoping that when people view this work they may connect and react by seeing themselves inside the art piece through the mirrors.
Czarnecki: I hope to draw people in out of curiosity, to have a closer look. I hope they find it interesting and that it evokes / inspires a moment of contemplation and reflection.
Letebele: When people view my work, I’m hoping they get to understand that the work was created from an authentic place. I hope they get to feel welcome to be curious about the work enough to ask themselves questions about it, and what it means to them.
Why do you think your work was chosen as a top 7?
Matikinca: I think my work was chosen because it is unique. My concept was relatable and people were able to engage with the story I was portraying.
Mkhangeli: My work is unique and the way I mastered the medium. I know that for Sasol New Signature the standard of your work must be high and your statement must be clear. I guess maybe I reached that.
Noppé: Perhaps because ‘sensory vertigo’ is something we all experience these days and written text is an increasingly obsolete way of communicating with one another; which is saddening, because so much of oneself can be found in one’s handwriting.
Blackburn: It is eye catching, showing technical skill and has message that is relevant to everyone.
Mofokeng: I believe it was chosen because it relates a lot to the individuals and to our nation, it brings hope and change to many broken souls.
Czarnecki: This is a difficult question. I hope it is because my work is a little different and that they enjoyed/ could relate to the message behind it. I’ve entered this competition to challenge myself, formalise my practice and for some kind of validation so just being part of the top 7 is already more than I could have hoped for.
Letebele: I believe my work was chosen as the top 7 because I feel the competition was looking for something new, ‘unbound’, something different and expressive that they may not have seen before. And furthermore, I believe there is a professional excursion in my work that was picked up by the judges. More than that, my artwork has a sense of resolution in terms of research and development that the judges may have picked up on. I feel I was able to communicate my work in a way that was understandable for the judges to evaluate in a fare manner.
Which South African artists do you admire and why?
Matikinca: I admire the late Gerard Sekoto and Lulama Wolf, their styles are so unique and different. The way they work with their material and choice of colours is amazing. I believe their subject matter is the people around them and their surroundings. I think that their inspiration never ran out because there is always something happening in our lives and around us. I also aspire to be a unique artist and to develop my own signature style.
Mkhangeli: Loyiso Mkize, Elize Bezuidenhout, Hugo Hellen, Nelson Makamo, Mbongeni Buthelezi, Ndabuko Ntuli, Zanele Muholi, TC Maila, Marlene Liebenberg they all portrait artists working with different mediums and they have different unique styles. Their consistency, persistence, and humbleness are what I really admire because they achieve a lot for themselves. They inspire a lot of people out there. Without forgetting Simphiwe Mbunyuza, Andile Dyalvane, Madoda Fani they are doing something different from portraits, mostly ceramics but their work is amazing, they working very hard. I’m in interested in trying to work with clay one day.
Noppé: In terms of South African artists that operate within the field of conceptual art and use text to convey meaning, I deeply admire book artist Heléne van Aswegen and conceptual artist Willem Boshoff.
Blackburn: Deborah Poynton. Her works are always so interesting to engage with, there is always so much to see, whether it be portraits, landscapes, still lifes or combination of all three. I love the idea of not being restrained to just one subject.
Mofokeng: Nelson Makamo – He is a hard working & very disciplined artist. His work is so unique & original he has an ability to portray the beautiful side of Africa, the joy and pride that we Africans have, despite our circumstances. He is showing the world that we are intelligent in our own unique ways as African children. Reggie Khumalo – Is an artist who brings change across African through his art and his actions, He is an artist who walks the talk, he leads by example travelling African countries with his bike funding many African schools and also collaborating with artists in those countries, despite his bad health condition he doesn’t give up on fulfilling his purpose as an artist.
Czarnecki: I’m slightly obsessed with Galia Gluckman. Her work with paper, inks and acrylics is mesmerising. The texture and detail and overall feel of her pieces is something to behold.
Letebele: I admire Dumile Feni because his work was ahead of his time, even though it was very relevant at the time of creation. I appreciate the multi-disciplinary efforts in his work. Being a black artist during apartheid must have required way more from an individual, and I have the utmost respect for him, and his contemporaries for paving the way for us. I also admire Lady Skollie as an artist. Her journey as an artist has been remarkable to experience and witness. It’s really been beautiful to see her work grow and develop to where it is now, and how she has remained true to her core and as an artist while continuing to thrive.
Anything else you would like to add?
Matikinca: I am grateful for the opportunity; my family and friends will never hear the end of it. Grateful to my lecturers for their help and motivation and to my parents for allowing me to study what I love. I am patting myself on the shoulder for all the hard work and I thank the Almighty for blessing me with this gift, it is his, I am just a vessel.
Mkhangeli: I would like to say thank you to all the sponsors, management, judges, organisers, and artists who made this competition one of the most amazing opportunities in the country for artists, especially artists like me! I feel honoured to be part of the top 7 of Sasol New Signature 2023. I wish every artist can take this opportunity seriously because it helps artists see things differently and learn. And to those who didn’t make it to the finals of this year, please never give up, learn and come back stronger, and have positive energy because yonke into inexesha layo. Thank you once again
Blackburn: I paint with the purpose; I want people to see my work. That is why I am so grateful to have this opportunity, the exposure alone is just incredible. Thank you to Sasol for arranging this competition, thank you to all the judges and thank you to everyone who believes in me and supports me.
Mofokeng: I’d like to thank Sasol New Signature for the opportunity you have given me to present my artwork to my nation and thank you again for the help and change you have brought through out the years till this very day. May God bless you.
Czarnecki: This is such an incredible platform and I’m tremendously grateful for the opportunity to be part of it.
Letebele: I would say thank you to the judges for considering my work up to this point. It is truly an honour to make it this far in such a prestigious competition.
