Artist Database

Wezile Harmans, born in South Africa, is a versatile visual artist known for his interdisciplinary approach that spans performance, video, installation, and mixed-media artworks. His creative endeavours serve as catalysts for social change, challenging prejudices, and advocating against social inequality, thereby fostering critical self-reflection in challenging environments.

Influenced by the origins of existence and the motivations behind movements and human behaviours, Harmans employs the theory of defamiliarization to stimulate meaningful conversations. His impactful international projects include a video performance with LEAD Project and LSE Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa (London), a highway billboard feature by The Centre for the Less Good Idea (Johannesburg), and a film collaboration with human rights defender Hub Artivism and University of York (CAHR), UK.

Noteworthy acquisitions of his work include the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum and ArtbankSA at the National Museum of South Africa in Bloemfontein. The project Umdiyadiya earned him the 2022 Best Visual Art Award in Creative Collection by the National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences. He was a finalist in the 2020 Arts & Culture Trust Awards and received the 2019 David Koloane Award.

Image courtesy of Latitudes Online.