Runner Up - IIolo

Sikhumbuzo Nation Makandula

The resourcefulness of Sikhumbuzo Nation Makandula with his video camera showcased an artwork that was complex yet simple and worthy of the Runner Up title of 2011 Sasol New Signatures Competition, held on 31 August 2011. The essence of Makandula’s piece, 'Ilolo' describes how things are either black or white and in order to resolve inner conflict, one side must always be denied in favour of the other.

This is a picture that does not obliterate pain and reality, but instead engages with it.

Born in De Aar, Northern Cape, the budding artist studied interior design at the Cape Peninsula of Technology, as well as graphic design at the Ruth Prowse School of Art in Cape Town. The combination of interior and graphic design gave Makandula a balanced foundation that is prevalent in his unique work.

The talented designer displayed creativity beyond just design. In 2009, he exhibited at a Writers Festival that later drew much attention, further exhibiting at the Nelson Mandela Museum in 2010. Makandula was chosen as one of five artists in the Eastern Cape to participate in the Arts Incubator programme hosted by the museum. In 2011, he was shortlisted as one of 10 finalists for a mentorship programme at Artspace Gallery in Johannesburg in 2011.

By this time his talent and composition was well respected, and Makandula was on his way to the top. The arts community had begun to see something extraordinary in his work and this gained him many accolades.

The video displays a rock not far from the Mandela royal burial ground along the cultural footprints of Madiba himself, in Qunu stands a young Xhosa man about to perform a trans ritual. Like the shaman himself the artist literally thrashes out his own identity addressing issues of sexuality, tradition, personality, rites of passage and in some instances challenges norms that are so taboo in the conservative cultural environment of the Eastern Cape. The patter of the rain and the beating of the bag on a wet surface encourage the viewer to become part of this rhythmic trans like state which is so prominent in most rituals.

The yearning for the connection (to the spirit, to each other and to the earth, is an expression of the sense of alienation that society has created among individuals. During the process of production, completeness took precedence over prettiness. Use of found objects created load, tension, and frustration brought about one's self.