NICHOLAS HLOBO

Nicholas Hlobo is known for large sculptural works in which rubber, ribbon, organza, lace and found materials are sewn, pulled and tensioned to generate ambiguous and sensual forms. His practice addresses issues related to Xhosa cultural identity, masculinity, sexuality, the processes of industrialization and the transformation of post-apartheid South Africa. In his work, the act of sewing is not decorative: it is a process of suture and conflict, a device used to show how identity and history emerge from lacerations and recompositions.