thando mama

Thando Mama is a South African-based artist, working and living in Cape Town. In 1999 He completed a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts from the Natal Technikon (Durban University of Technology). Thando Mama has exhibited widely in South Africa, Senegal, Mali, Europe (Spain; France; United Kingdom, Belgium; Holland; Switzerland; Austria) , Middle East (Israel), United States, Australia and New Zealand.

A winner of the Prix de la Communaute Francaise de Belgique at the Biennale de l’Art Africain Contemporain DAK’ART in 2004 and the MTN New Contemporaries awards in 2003. He is in great demand from various museums and galleries to show his videos and photo based works.
Thando Mama tackles a variety of subjects including Black masculinity and the marginality of African subjects. For the most part he uses his own body as a subject in his videos while referencing popular media, popular culture such as hip-hop, racial stereotypes as well as film. He is not only interested in video as a means of communication but is also fascinated by its formal qualities as well.

Thando Mama is an artist who works in new media particular video art and installation. Over the past year he has been working on digital photography and drawings. Thando Mama's subject matter varies from themes of 'Africaness', to contemporary social and political commentary in South Africa, to mass media access and television creative interpretation in art museums and galleries across the globe.

He takes his body as a point of reference, his face, his voice, his shadow, his thoughts interpret his environment, incorporating imagery for print and television media.

This is beginning to be translated in his drawings and mix-media works.

Thando is a founding member of a lose collective (now defunct) '3rd eye vision' which included, Khwezi Gule, Gabi Ngcobo, Langa Magwa, Zamani Makhanya etc. In its short time it facilitated workshops, exhibitions, interactions and talks on contemporary art in South Africa.