mintgrove

Untitled I (2009)
Kudzanai Chiurai
Chiurai was born in Zimbabwe and his early work focussed on the political, economic and social situation of his homeland. Now living in Johannesburg, he is an activist and artist (painter, designer, editor and photographer) who addresses issues such as xenophobia, displacement, consumerism and black empowerment in his work.

His satirical series The Parliament depicts the fictitious characters of an imaginary government cabinet in a parody of media representations of masculinity and political power. The series draws upon the conventions of African studio portraiture, dramatised magazine features, hip-hop, film and fashion as well as the story lines, stereotyped characters and plots of soap operas. These mediations also inform his decorative portraits of young Jo'burgers seen against cloth backdrops imprinted with political logos and figures.

'The person I use for many of these portraits is essentially a performer; he's a pop icon in South Africa who everyone knows from television and radio. His name is Siyabonga Ngwekazi and it was important to use him as he works in popular culture - he is part of that collective consciousness and a South African audience would immediately recognize him. He is a popular icon himself and people look at him as a model for style and fashion. So to see him outside of that TV context is to be aware of the artifice of the roles he adopts, of his performance of black masculinity and popular culture as image… I wrote the briefs for the series and started working with stylists and a photographer and borrowed clothes from people.'

Kudzanai Chuirai, interviewed by Tamar Garb, South Africa, 2010

via V&A Museums