Sihle Shozi

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Sihle Shozi was born and raised in the township of Umlazi in Kwazulu-Natal on the 8th of February 1999. He then moved to the rural community of Umgababa in the South Coast of Durban. He is a multimedia artist who obtained his diploma in Fine Art at the Durban University of Technology in 2021. 

Like most youth who grew up in townships of South Africa, Shozi was raised by a single parent. The experiences that unfold in the townships have had a huge impact on his practice as an artist. His work deals with contemporary issues of representation, identity and the history of African communities in relation to his own life. 

Shozi uses charcoal and oil pastels since they are made with materials that are connected with the land which is a critical subject in the South African landscape. The charcoal comes from burnt trees, and oil pastels come from oil substances. The qualities of these materials are used to narrate the representation of African communities and their identities in contemporary spaces. Most Africans in South Africa do not own land which imposes limitations on exploring their ideas.