Nomthunzi Mashalaba

(b. 1979, South Africa)

nomThunzi Mashalaba is a South African artist currently working and living in Johannesburg. She graduated with a B-Tech (Fine Arts) from Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria in 2006. nomThunzi's artistic practice resides in an interdisciplinary field with concerns that revolve around ideas of exploring deeper into personal stories. Throughout her career Mashalaba has worked in a range of disciplines, including painting, printmaking, sculpture, video and even performance – choosing whichever medium best conveys an experience or idea. Her works often archive collections of individuals and reinterpret personal notes, family photos and other forms of documentation into textured works of art. She uses delicate layering, vivid colour and seemingly random bits of text that add ambiguity and intrigue to her creations. She plays with fragility of memory and perception, her work always ambiguous, and unresolved, evading clear definition. The narration of the work is intended to go beyond its original basis to the unpredictable shaping of something that is simultaneously the present, past, personal and otherwise.