Image: courtesy of Yolo Mantiyane
Please tell us a bit about yourself
I am a 23-year-old multi-disciplinary artist who specialises in painting, and just recently graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Rhodes University this year April 2024. I am originally from a rural area called Manteku Village in the Eastern Cape; a region of the province commonly referred to as emaMpondweni. My cultural background consists of isiMpondo, isiXhosa, and isiZulu heritage, which is why I prefer to categorise the themes of my work as consisting of Nguni cultural practices and traditions. Most notably I paint by hand using cow dung, as is traditionally done in rural mud huts, which is called “ukusinda”. Which was the title for my fourth-year body of work exhibited in 2023.
Take us back to when your interest in art began and what inspired you to pursue a career as an artist?
When I was in grade 3, my primary school took part in an external art competition which I would go on to win. If I remember correctly, I won a R500 stationery voucher, which my uMama couldn’t have been happier about and that prompted her to sign me up for painting class every Saturday at a R100 a lesson. This was between the ages of 11 and 12. In high school I took Visual Arts as a subject amongst other chosen subjects, but I wouldn’t choose to study art after high school until matric when I had to choose the career path for varsity. Which I can say now in retrospect allowed me to apply for a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Rhodes. I think my pursuit of art as a career really seemed tangible for me when I was in my third year of undergrad, that is when I was able to start finding my voice as an artist once I was allowed to do self-directed work. I think my love for art was fostered in two very important areas in my upbringing, at home and at school. My talent and abilities were recognised from a young age, and I was encouraged, to actively pursue it and for that I am eternally grateful.
You have exhibited 'Ukusinda: Imisebenzi' in November 2023, tell us about the creative process. How did you develop the ideas behind this body of work?
The creative process for this project involved a lot of travelling and a constant interrogation on my part of continuously tying the conceptual underpinning of me to the practice of art making. Ukusinda, is a study of Nguni communal structures, and a celebration of the overlooked contributions of women within community. Ukusinda, in isiXhosa can be defined as “to survive”, “a burden”, “the act of flooring with cow dung”. Imisebenzi is the plural definition of “work”. Which is to speak to labour required of men and women in traditional and ceremonial settings and how that plays into gender roles. On a more logistical sense I travelled a lot for the purpose of collecting source material, of cow dung as well as source images. The cow dung was a logistical nightmare, it had to be collected and used within a certain time frame before it became unusable. But it was so vital to the process, it became part of the story of the landscapes it was sourced from. Most of it was gifted, which is significant if you understand the spiritual significance of ubulongwe and cows and ubuhlanti within Nguni culture. I made trips long trips to my grandmother’s village eCebe, a village 2 hours passed Centane. I went to imigidi, immersed myself and tried to capture visually as much as possible the essence of these cultural moments. But more importantly it was tied together by a desire to preserve a dying cultural practice, which is ukusinda, an act that is often left to women and young girls. The practice translated so well as a painting method, and aesthetically it was understated yet impactful. Which is something that I wanted to drive forward as a means of using it as a painting technique
What skills did you have to develop or learn to create this body of work?
I majored in Art History and Visual Culture as well as Fine Art Practice while I was completing my undergraduate. These two subjects worked well together as a they allowed me to learn the skill of creating or practice with intention in mind. By this I mean I was able to learn how to create with conceptual underpinning always in mind, and how to also connect my use of medium and technique to better understand and enforce my themes and concepts. I also expanded my understanding of what painting could be outside of the traditional use of watercolour, oil, and acrylic. I had to learn how to successfully paint with cow dung, what conditions to store it. Which I learnt was a cool dry environment was best. If it got hot and moist, it became a breeding ground for mould and other living creatures. I also learned that just water-based paint it could re-activated with water, but there was also a point of no return with the medium, where if it was too dry it was rendered unusable. Most interestingly was the ability to carve into the dung once it was dry and create dimension, almost like a relief painting.
What is your aesthetic and how have your life experiences influenced this style?
I am not sure how to describe my aesthetic, but I think at the moment it steers towards a detailed minimalism. Practices like slaughtering and ukusinda were a part of my upbringing, and so became a feature in some capacity in my artworks. The most prominent feature of my paintings has been cow dung. At times it’s the only medium on the canvas surface with texture being created by the imprint of fingerprints like in the painting below, Ublongwe base Cebe. In some cases, there is additional details added after the application of cow dung, with the use of carving such as in Ubuhlanti base Cebe as well as in Icango lwase Hlabathi. Others are more detailed with a mixed-medium approach such as in Umgidi ka Phelo no Oyisa. I grew up ezilalini, and ikayakhulu (homestead) and is also rural, so all of the experiences that I have grown up seeing and have actively participated are unique to these environments. For example, my artworks depict certain practices like ukuxhela (animal slaughtering), and ukusinda. Within the contexts of a traditional event like umgidi. So, an artwork depicting a slaughtered cow titled Umgidi ka Thando no Phelo, would contextualise the slaughtering of that animal.
Yolo Mantiyane. Ublongwe base Cebe. Ukusinda series. 2023. Cow dung on canvas
Yolo Mantiyane. Ubhlanti base Cebe. Ukusinda series.2023. Cow dung and acrylic on canvas
Any projects that you are currently working on?
I am not working on any projects at the moment. This year has been about trying to get as many eyes on the body of work as possible since its debut exhibition in November 2023. So far, Ubuhlanti base Cebe was exhibited during the 2024 National Arts Festival Student Exhibition, and Icango lwase Cebe will also be exhibited in the Pretoria Arts Museum as part of Sasol New Signatures Top 100 Finalists this year. Hopefully there will be other exhibitions and projects to come.
Yolo Mantiyane. Icango lwase Hlabathi. Ukusinda series. 2023. Cow dung and acrylic on board
Follow Yolo Mantiyane on Instagram @itsjust_yolo
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