Artists

Thabang Lehobye, is a visual artist experimenting with various stop motion animation techniques using acrylics and charcoal. With a career spanning 18 years, he started his formal art practice at Artist Proof Studio, where his love for Jo’burg as a subject in his works began. He then graduated with a National Diploma in Fine Arts from University of Johannesburg and Studied Multimedia at Vega School of Brand Communication. Receiving patronage from Johnson & Johnson enabled him to further his professional development course at Artist Proof Studio in 2005. He received further support from artist William Kentridge as part of professional development as well as to further his studies in 2008. Lehobye has been awarded multiple Grants and Awards and has participated in numerous shows.

“The Jo’burg inner city serves as Thabang Lehobye’s playground as he uses different hues and angles to lure the viewer in to walk the metaphorical streets embedded within his work. Exploring the city’s metamorphic qualities, the works are a representation of the changing connections to the cityscape. This constant rediscovery through the artist’s perspective enables one to begin to gain a portal to the city. Viewers can begin to both locate themselves within the labyrinth while also allowing themselves to get lost as his experimentation with scale drives this impetus. The open composition extends an invitation to the viewer to surrender to the magnetic nature of the city. The people who animate the city have a palpable presence as key figures in the intersection between the seemingly static nature and the constant state of flux which is characteristic of the Jo’burg inner city. An immersive experience is created through the creative use of acrylics and charcoal, with Tools such as perspective useful to this end. Taking the viewer on a journey up rooftops of buildings or through fleetingly tranquil scenes, these paintings come to life through film. The scenes are an evocation of the artist’s belief in the need to look around and see the little things. Fascinated with the Jo’burg inner city from a young age, Lehobye’s works invite not only an alternate gaze but also an active participation by the viewer to become the subject within the mixed media pieces.”