Cinthia Sifa Mulanga is a multimedia  artist to watch out for  in Johannesburg

The artist has been commissioned by Gucci to create an artwork that celebrates the Diana tote bag.

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor

She is only 25 years old and two years ago, no one in the art world knew about her. But that has suddenly changed as she has just landed one of the most sought-after art commissions in contemporary art circles in Africa. And her profile as a practicing artist is set to rise to the top of the game.

 CITYLIFE/ART introduces young painter Cinthia Sifa Mulanga of Johannesburg. And If you do not know her yet, you better do because her name is important to know, especially If you are interested in collecting cutting edge contemporary art from Africa. Her art practice is currently focused on the theme of beauty and what beauty might mean to different people.

But for now, let us get the context why Cinthia’s rise to the top is unique.

Anyone who has been living on this planet in the past two years will tell you that life has been tough with the global pandemic disrupting our lives, both economic and social life. There is definitely no question about the damage and losses people suffered as a result of this disease.

However encouragingly there are those who irrespective of the challenges brought about by this disease, have found a way around it, and some even thrived  despite Covid-19.

Twenty five year old Johannesburg based visual artist Cinthia is one of those who found her way around the difficulties posed by Covid-19 and actually did well for herself. In fact as it were the pandemic actually assisted her in launching her career on the digital space, a techno logy that became essential tools for effective connection with potential clients for those innovative enough during the past two difficult years of a sustained Civid-19 prevalence..

Launching her career online on the Latitudes Online platform, the artist was able to showcase her paintings to the art market and collectors simply fell in love with her work. The value of her work has gone up, and so have the prices for her paintings due to demand. Her curators say that the list of potential clients waiting for their commissioned work from the young artists keeps on growing everyday. This reminds me of another artists who could not cope with demand for his work till his death, Benon Lutaaya. Before death robbed us of that talent, he clearly made a huge impression on the art market with high powered collectors constantly knocking at his studio doors for commissioned work.

Cnthia seems to be following on those foot steps, going by the rate at which her works are starting to attract collectors who have fallen in love with her art practice and paintings.

Now the young artist is going places as she has just received a commission even established artists would die for. Luxury fashion international  brand Gucci has commissioned her to work on their current  Diana bags campaign. Before you shout: she is luck, hold on for a moment and pose to look at her art practice much more closely.

 Cinthia in the past two years that she has been showcasing her art works, mainly s paintings of female subjects trapped in interior spaces, has attracted a following in the art trade.

“My work explores beauty constructs as well as their psychological and physical impact on African women through the search for my own identity as a Congolese young woman, raised in South Africa. I create moments within domestic spaces by using different mediums such as acrylic with oil paint, charcoal, ink, collage from personal photographs, fabric, history books, newspapers, and magazines. The moments I create in these domestic spaces are dialogues between the perceived beauty standards, stereotypes which in their compositions function to both challenge and embrace African women. The Barbie doll, a primary inspiration to my work, is used with other feminine objects or ideologies associated with African women, representing thoughts, misconceptions, perceptions emotions, and the evolution of beauty itself. These spaces allow me to create open conversations and interrogate the notions of beauty,” she explains.

“Now she will be overturning ideals of beauty through an artwork commissioned by Gucci, to celebrate the fashion house’s iconic Diana tote bag.

Few artists made a name for themselves during Covid-19 and the lockdowns that forced everyone into isolation. Without live exhibitions, fairs and gatherings, it seemed as if there weren’t opportunities for unknown artists to elicit attention or generate a wave of interest. 

Cinthia Sifa Mulanga bucked this trend, quickly gaining attention on Latitudes Online with a series of paintings that immediately suggested the artist possessed that elusive signature that artists and collectors seek out. Two years on, there are still waiting lists for her works, the prices of them have increased substantially, she has shown her paintings at local and international art fairs, is in discussion with a first-tier African gallery to exhibit works and has been commissioned by Gucci to create an artwork that celebrates the Diana tote bag. This is not bad going for a twenty-five-year-old artist who only launched onto the scene during the pandemic,” say her curators at Online trading art platform Latitudes.

“It has definitely been surprising. I was really taken aback,” says Mulanga, of the invitation to be featured in Gucci’s latest campaign. “I’m only now digesting what has happened and starting to understand the impact of my work and how different it is.” 

“Mulanga was tasked with featuring the iconic Gucci Diana tote bag, in a new piece, commissioned by the Italian fashion house. First introduced in 1991, the bag was popularised by and later named after Diana, Princess of Wales. The collaborative process, which saw many versions sent back and forth between Johannesburg and Milan, resulted in the below artwork, Moment,” confirms latitudes.