Solo exhibition presentations by four featured artists at Latitudes Centre for the Arts

Cinthia Sifa Mulanga, Phumulani Ntuli, Anna van der Ploeg and Tusevo Landu 8 November 2023 – 26 January 2024.

By CityLife Arts Writer
Four solo artists are to have solo exhibition presentations at the Latitudes Centre for the Arts (LCA) from next week, opening on November 8, 2023.

“Latitudes is proud to share the work of four artists that offer a thought-provoking window into their interior lives. Through these four shows, the artists reveal their most intimate thoughts and delve deep into the new reality and challenges of our contemporary lives. At Latitudes, our ethos has always been to allow independent artists to showcase their work alongside that of gallery-represented artists. Whether it be on our online platform, at our annual fair, or at our new physical space, Latitudes Centre for the Arts.”

For our latest showing, we collaborate with two independent artists, Cinthia Sifa Mulanga and Tusevo Landu, as well as with David Krut Projects, who present the works of Phumulani Ntuli and Anna van der Ploeg.

Giants by Cinthia Sifa Mulanga

Cinthia Sifa Mulanga’s long-awaited solo exhibition, Giants, sees the artist’s once-idyllic, contained domestic spaces burst open, filled with larger-than-life characters and appendages. As Mulanga grapples with her innermost conflicts, she pulls, and pulls, and forages, drawing inspiration from the endless stream of Black women who seem so grounded in self. Giants is both Mulanga’s battleground and her sanctuary, set around this one stream: her unstoppable force, and these immovable objects. The figures in her work drink from this stream with an insatiable thirst, yet still reflect a desire for more. In this stream, Mulanga catches the reflection of herself in other Black women – yet, still, seen through the patriarchal gaze. Even in scenes populated only by women, they move with – and often against – one another under the inescapable gaze of this Orwellian presence.

Kunanela iphuzu emafini / Echoes of the Point Cloud by Phumulani Ntuli

This solo feature showcases Phumulani Ntuli’s first series of intricate unique works on paper made using an old-fashioned printing press in collaboration with Kim-Lee Loggenberg at the David Krut Workshop in 2023, as well as large mixed media collages on canvas from the artist’s studio. Kunanela iphuzu emafini / Echoes of the Point Cloud contains excerpts from South Africa’s history of motion pictures in collision with current point cloud data, automation, and synthesis bestowed by Artificial Intelligence. Using devices of cinematic practice and model training as artistic enquiries, these artworks navigate the first South African pioneer film ‘Jim Goes to Joburg’, produced by Eric Rutherford and directed by Donald Swanson under Swan Film Productions, which was later re-titled as ‘African Jim’ to contextualise the film for European audiences. The body of work attends to scenes deployed through a black and white cinematic lens, to reenact the South African seminal film tradition within the margins of the changing socio-political landscape. Kunanela iphuzu emafini / Echoes of the Point Cloud searches for alternate ways of seeing, experiencing and navigating the changing city.

Omens in hot bacon contradiction; monotypes by Anna van der Ploeg

In December of 2022 and early 2023, Van Der Ploeg visited the David Krut Workshop, where she completed a series of monotypes, named Omens in hot bacon contradiction. This body of work consists of a series of monotype prints in various sizes, as well as oil paintings and etchings.

As a figurative artist, Anna van der Ploeg searches for new metaphors to convey insights about our common assemblies, to find rhythms in the motion of social, artistic, and intellectual contexts. Her artistry is built on a foundation of technical competence and intellectual curiosity: she is vigorous in both her making and thinking.

An Introduction by Tusevo Landu

Tusevo Landu studied at the Artists Proof Studio and later went on to become a self-taught painter. His practice encompasses acrylic painting, print-making, drawing, and various mixed media, reflecting his desire to explore the diverse facets of human expression. Landu’s experiences as a Congolese artist living in South Africa have been a driving force in shaping his artistic practice. He employs traditional African masks, typically used in Congolese coming-of-age ceremonies, as symbols of the enigmatic nature of his chosen subjects. Through his work, Landu explores how such cultural events can profoundly affect one’s life, based on their appearance, bridging the gap between the ancestral and the contemporary.

Latitudes Centre for the Arts is open Monday – Friday, 10am-4pm
12 Hope Road, Mountain View, Johannesburg
Viewings are by appointment – please click here to book.