NICHOLAS HLOBO

STANDARD BANK YOUNG ARTIST AWARD 2009

Nicholas Hlobo's first monograph, published on the occasion of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award, traces his work from 2005 to 2009, including the making of his SBYA exhibition. Accompanying essays by Mark Gevisser, Kopano Ratele and Jen Mergel looks at aspects of Hlobo's life and work in depth. Hlobo draws strongly on his Xhosa heritage in his work, invoking the rich idioms of the Xhosa language and exploring how traditions evolve in changing times. Of equal interest to the artist is his sexual identity, and his place as a gay man within Xhosa culture. In his SBYA exhibition, Umtshotsho, Hlobo takes as his theme the rituals that accompany the transition from youth to adulthood.