Inxiwa II

Artist Statement – Nqobile Hlela

My work is rooted in self-reflection and the documentation of everyday experiences within African communities. I use painting as a visual language to navigate personal memory, cultural history, and the manifestation of positive thought into reality. Through this process, I aim to inspire dialogue, imagination, and a belief in endless possibility—locally and globally.

I explore modern, Afro futuristic ideas alongside cultural symbolism to reclaim history, confront present injustices, and envision empowered African futures. I invite the viewer to engage in transformation of African history and shaping a new narrative.

Central to my practice are figurative portraits with green skin tones, symbolizing rebirth, hope, patience, and growth. These figures inhabit both familiar and undefined spaces, celebrating unity, individuality, and diversity. Expressive mark-making functions as both material exploration and a record of different phases of my life, affirming my role as a visual storyteller.

I understand storytelling as a spiritual inheritance passed down through generations. This belief connects my practice to the long history of painting in South Africa, where ancestors used natural pigments to document journeys, histories, and beliefs on cave walls.

Inspired by my semi-rural upbringing in Pietermaritzburg, cultural diversity, music, popular culture, and personal experiences of familial conflict and cultural absence, my work serves as therapy, spiritual grounding, and a call to preserve African stories for future generation.