Siphiwe Mnguni, If You Were Looking, You Would Have Seen, 2023
Acrylic and soft pastel on watercolour paper, 76 x 56.5cm
Siphiwe Mnguni's practice navigates the notion of identity whilst exploring the iconography of the black female nude in relation to her own body. Challenging traditional representations of the figure in western art history, Siphiwe's work is also informed by subconscious thought and her own experiences as a young British-Zimbabwean woman living in south east London.
This unframed work is one of four larger-scale new pieces that Siphiwe has made for our ‘Power Play’ group exhibition in May 2023. They form the beginning of a new series which is intensely personal, exploring ideas around - in her words - ‘the things we’ve left behind and the things we keep with us’. Although the artist’s past imagery strongly suggested figuration, this new series experiments with abstraction, whilst retaining a unique sense of playfulness. This is the most vibrant drawing in the series so far, featuring several of the distinctive figures that have come to characterise Siphiwe’s practice. The three central forms are similar - but not identical to one another. For the artist, this idea of a fragmented reflection explores the reality that ‘you can’t quite see yourself’.
Siphiwe gained a BA (Hons) in Fashion, Textiles and Interiors at the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham (2012 – 2015) with a focus upon print design. Alongside her artistic practice she currently works full time for the arts and mental health charity Hospital Rooms as a project curator leading workshops and managing large-scale artist commissions in hospitals. She was included in a group exhibition with Tart Gallery, London, in December 2021 and her works on paper are held in several private collections. Oliver Projects was proud to show her work for the first time in 2022. Siphiwe lives in Forest Hill, south east London.
Acrylic and soft pastel on watercolour paper, 76 x 56.5cm
Siphiwe Mnguni's practice navigates the notion of identity whilst exploring the iconography of the black female nude in relation to her own body. Challenging traditional representations of the figure in western art history, Siphiwe's work is also informed by subconscious thought and her own experiences as a young British-Zimbabwean woman living in south east London.
This unframed work is one of four larger-scale new pieces that Siphiwe has made for our ‘Power Play’ group exhibition in May 2023. They form the beginning of a new series which is intensely personal, exploring ideas around - in her words - ‘the things we’ve left behind and the things we keep with us’. Although the artist’s past imagery strongly suggested figuration, this new series experiments with abstraction, whilst retaining a unique sense of playfulness. This is the most vibrant drawing in the series so far, featuring several of the distinctive figures that have come to characterise Siphiwe’s practice. The three central forms are similar - but not identical to one another. For the artist, this idea of a fragmented reflection explores the reality that ‘you can’t quite see yourself’.
Siphiwe gained a BA (Hons) in Fashion, Textiles and Interiors at the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham (2012 – 2015) with a focus upon print design. Alongside her artistic practice she currently works full time for the arts and mental health charity Hospital Rooms as a project curator leading workshops and managing large-scale artist commissions in hospitals. She was included in a group exhibition with Tart Gallery, London, in December 2021 and her works on paper are held in several private collections. Oliver Projects was proud to show her work for the first time in 2022. Siphiwe lives in Forest Hill, south east London.
Acrylic and soft pastel on watercolour paper, 76 x 56.5cm
Siphiwe Mnguni's practice navigates the notion of identity whilst exploring the iconography of the black female nude in relation to her own body. Challenging traditional representations of the figure in western art history, Siphiwe's work is also informed by subconscious thought and her own experiences as a young British-Zimbabwean woman living in south east London.
This unframed work is one of four larger-scale new pieces that Siphiwe has made for our ‘Power Play’ group exhibition in May 2023. They form the beginning of a new series which is intensely personal, exploring ideas around - in her words - ‘the things we’ve left behind and the things we keep with us’. Although the artist’s past imagery strongly suggested figuration, this new series experiments with abstraction, whilst retaining a unique sense of playfulness. This is the most vibrant drawing in the series so far, featuring several of the distinctive figures that have come to characterise Siphiwe’s practice. The three central forms are similar - but not identical to one another. For the artist, this idea of a fragmented reflection explores the reality that ‘you can’t quite see yourself’.
Siphiwe gained a BA (Hons) in Fashion, Textiles and Interiors at the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham (2012 – 2015) with a focus upon print design. Alongside her artistic practice she currently works full time for the arts and mental health charity Hospital Rooms as a project curator leading workshops and managing large-scale artist commissions in hospitals. She was included in a group exhibition with Tart Gallery, London, in December 2021 and her works on paper are held in several private collections. Oliver Projects was proud to show her work for the first time in 2022. Siphiwe lives in Forest Hill, south east London.
