Artist Database

Sibusiso Mthembu was born and raised in Cabhane, a rural village in uMthwalume on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal. The pursuit of a better life fuelled his move to Durban in 2006, a year after he matriculated, where he explored career options in textile manufacturing and then as a business owner.
Frustrated with a life of employment and business, Mthembu embraced the world of making as a rebuttal to oppression and exploitation in 2021. He wished to have more control of his time and to use his hands as a means to generate income. As a child he was interested in what he could make with his hands. His grandfather had one arm and endlessly worked – fixing and making with one hand and Mthembu was inspired by his capability and filled with gratitude for his own able bodiedness. His pursuit for freedom came from years of observing the dynamics of servitude as it pertains to ‘his people’. He no longer wanted to be part of a group that relies on other entities for their livelihood, and making his own work provided the ideal platform for his values, interests and dreams to intersect. At this time, Mthembu began working with clay under the tutelage of world-renowned ceramicist, Clive Sithole, with whom he now shares a studio at the Phansi Museum in Glenwood, Durban.
Mthembu approaches art as a means of expression that doesn’t always have to be predicated on a story. He is interested in creating whatever he feels, without always having the end in sight – a story that can develop with making. This method is based on his affinity to outsider artists and their practice and he is more comfortable being referred to as a ‘maker’ or ‘craftsman’. For Mthembu the title of ‘artist’ is reserved for a very special group of practitioners creating work in several mediums, with Thami Jali and William Kentridge as some of those who deserve such a title.
Biography courtesy of KZNSA Gallery , Durban