South Africa's Art Scene: Local artist showcases his work from township home

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02:26

In South Africa, art is mostly found in galleries and exhibitions in affluent areas of the country. But this young man is making a difference -- by making his art accessible to his community in his township. Yolisa Njamela reports.

Mpho Machete lives in Tembisa. Tembisa is a large township situated on the East Rand in Gauteng province. He showcases his art here from his home. Machete tells us that his paintings are a process of embodying a sense of self-consciousness and therefore mainly abstract. They're also about self awareness.

MPHO MACHETE ARTIST "I try to represent that by form of texture. So how you interpret the work and how you see the work might be totally different to the person next to you. You're looking at the same thing but you're not seeing the same thing. You interpret it in your head different than everyone else."

Machete showcases his work in Tembisa not out of choice but circumstance. He says he would rather be closer to the community that is able to purchase more pieces of his art.

YOLISA NJAMELA TEMBISA, SOUTH AFRICA "It's not often in South Africa that art is showcased in the townships. Galleries and art exhibitions are often found in the more affluent areas of the country."

MPHO MACHETE ARTIST "The people that are in my work as they see them in an exhibition, they're not keen on seeing me work here. It's quite a distance for them. It's quite far for them, so the idea is to build up more clients and work and move closer to the hyped scene of the art world."

Machete recently showcased his work at South Africa's Mall of Africa in an exhibition curated by well renowned art dealer Julie Miller. The Julie Miller art Collective is the largest series of public art works in South Africa.

MPHO MACHETE ARTIST "I like representing my work that way because it says a lot about who I am and what is it that I venture in, in life."

Machete aspires to be one of South Africa's well recognized artists. Yolisa Njamela, CGTN, Tembisa, South Africa.