Banele Khoza was born in 1994 in Hlatikulu, Swaziland and moved to South Africa in 2008 for school. In 2011, he enrolled at the London International School of Fashion for a year where he studied Fashion Design. Khoza returned in 2012 and studied Fine Arts at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), which he completed in 2014, followed by a BTech in Fine Arts the following year. He was a lecturer in Drawing and Art Theory at TUT and is now a full-time artist based in Pretoria.

Khoza believes that he experiences a greater sense of freedom living in South Africa – as opposed to staying in Swaziland. He explains, “There is a rich culture and appreciation of the Arts in this country and it inspires me further. I would have been in a box if I was based in Swaziland – however, living in South Africa has allowed me to create my own identity that knows of no boundaries.” Romantic and dreamlike in quality, Khoza’s abstract figurative works challenge the idea of gender norms; investigating identity and masculinity. He frequently subverts the traditional idea of the use of pink and blue as associated with females and males, respectively.

In 2017, Khoza won the Gerard Sekoto Award, which provided him with a three-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. The following year, he opened his own design workshop and gallery space, BKhz Studio, in Johannesburg. He has featured in numerous solo and group shows, including the solo exhibition LGBQTI+: Banele Khoza at Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town in 2018.

Image credit: Mpho Mokgadi.