MASONWABE NTLOKO

MASONWABE (B. 1996) IS A 26-YEAR-OLD VISUAL ARTIST/ILLUSTRATOR AND TEXTILE DESIGN GRADUATE WHO HAS CAPTURED SOUTH AFRICA’S HEART WITH HIS MODERN HERITAGE STYLE OF DESIGNING. HE GREW UP IN A SMALL-TOWN CALLED EDUTYWA BUT IS ORIGINALLY FROM A VILLAGE CALLED ENGWANE, WHERE HE HAS DRAWN MOST OF HIS INSPIRATION FROM, CULTURE (ISIXHOSA AND RECENTLY OTHER SOUTH AFRICAN ETHINC GROUPS), PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF ORDINARY BLACK PEOPLE ARE AMONGST THE THINGS THAT HE FINDS VALUE IN AND TRIES TO EMULATE IN HIS WORK.

HIS ART STYLE IS WELL CURATED, BEING SIMPLE WITH A CULTURAL INFLUENCE. HIS WORK TAKES THE FORM OF A STORYTELLER, TAKING STORIES FROM THE PAST AND EXPRESSING THEM IN AN ARTISTIC FORM THAT MANY MAY CONNECT TO. HIS STYLE IS MODERN, MAKING IT A FIT FOR THE CURRENT TIMES, WHILE OFFERING A NOSTALGIC ELEMENT TO IT.

HIS WORK EXPLORES THE RICHNESS, SPIRITUAL NUANCES AND HERITAGE OF THE XHOSA PEOPLE OF SOUTH AFRICA,WITH RURAL LIVED EXPERIENCES. IT  LOOKS AT THE RITE OF PASSAGE/INITIATION OF YOUNG MEN, A COMMON RITUAL IN THE XHOSA CULTURE. THE WORK ALSO CELEBRATES THE MATRIARCHS, THE POWERFUL WOMEN FROM WHICH WE COME FROM, JUST TO MENTION A FEW.

MASONWABE'S WORK IS NOT ONLY LIMITED TO THE XHOSA CULTURE, BUT EXPLORES THE WHOLE OF SOUTH AFRICA, HIGHLIGHTING THE DIVERSITY OF THE CULTURE AND THE PEOPLE. HIS WORK HAS BEEN FEATURED IN MUSEUMS AND EXHIBITIONS ACROSS SOUTH AFRICA, GIVING HIM A PLATFORM TO SHOWCASE HIS ART AND HIS UNIQUE TAKE ON SOUTH AFRICAN CULTURE.

WHEN MASONWABE WAS A STUDENT AT THE NELSON MANDELA UNIVERSITY (GRAD 2018), HE RECEIVED AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTERN FOR ONE OF SOUTH AFRICAS BIGGEST BRANDS MAXHOSA AFRICA . THAT OPENNED HIS EYES TO THE DIFFERENT WAYS ONE CAN EXPRESS THEMSELVES ARTISTICALLY,LEARN ABOUT ALL THE OTHER ASPECTS OF THE ART AND DESIGN INDUSTRY AND FROM THERE HE STARTED BUILDING HIS PERSONAL BRAND AS MASONWABE NTLOKO. ALONG THE WAY HE HAS COLLABORATED WITH BOTH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BRANDS SUCH AS MARKHAM, AIRLOOM, MANDELA LEGACY, CHARLOTTE MAXEKE INSTITUTION, ROCKING THE DAISIES, WARNER MUSIC AFRICA YOGI SIP ALL THESE EXPERIENCES HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO WHO HE HAS BECOME TODAY AS HE’S LEARNT FROM EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. MASONWABE HAS DEVELOPED A REPUTATION OF DROPPING HIGHLY ANTICIPATED COLLABORATIONS THAT SELL OUT WITH IN HOURS, IN 2022 HE HOSTED HIS FIRST RUG EXHIBITION WITH AIRLOOM WHICH RECEIVED AN OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE RESPONSE.

MASONWABE HAS ALSO DONE WORK IN THE FIELD OF DESIGN AND CREATIVE DIRECTION IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRTY. HE HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN MULTIPLE PROJECTS AS DESIGN LEAD UNDER HIS OTHER COMPANY CREATE STUDIOS, HE WORK WITH COMPANIES SUCH AS UNIVERSAL MUSIC, SONY MUSIC, WARNER MUSIC AFRICA, SOULISTIC, BLUE NOTE RECORDS AND A ROSTER OF ARTISTS SUCH AS CASSPER NYOVEST, SIMPHIWE DANA, MAFIKIZOLO, JIMMY DLUDLU, DE MTHUDA, AKA, TRESOR AND PRINCE KAYBEE TO NAME JUST A FEW. MASONWABE HAS BEEN A PART OF A FEW PANELS AND TALKS, WHERE HE HAS SHARED HIS EXPERIENCES AND KNOWLEDGE WITH STUDENTS, ASPIRING CREATIVES AND ENTREPRENEURS. HIS MAIN FOCUS IS TO HELP AND NURTURE YOUNG CREATIVES IN THE INDUSTRY PARTING THE KNOWLEDGE HE CONTINUES TO LEARN.