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artists

Unique makers creating beyond the conveyer belt of mass-produced wallpaper. Often compelled to create because there is no alternative.

Cement airplane sculpture on a pedestal in the yard gallery
Galeria Kulumani, Manhiça

Featured

The Cement Sculptor of Manhiça

Zeca Francisco Saia

In Manhiça, Mozambique, Zeca Francisco Saia began sculpting with cement in 2003 after he could no longer work as a bricklayer — starting with a bird and an airplane that won over sceptical neighbours.

His process is intuitive, shapes drawn from the clouds. Larger pieces — the Jesus statues, the soldiers, the animals that fill his yard-turned-gallery — take up to four weeks to dry and set.

Despite no formal training past seventh grade, he dreams of building a life-size, walk-in airplane sculpture, supplements his income through a plant nursery beside the work, and describes his path simply: "I started because I had to have something to do."

Painted cement soldier sculpture in patterned uniform
Blue cement soldier saluting, with Mozambican flag behind
Cement figures at Galeria Kulumani
Cement sculpture in the yard
Cement sculpture detail
Cement sculpture detail
Cement sculpture in the yard
Cement sculpture close-up

represented artists

  • Lady Skollie (Laura Windvogel)

    Cape Town–based artist who combines printmaking with bold social commentary. A graduate of the University of Cape Town, her work explores gender, sexuality, and identity through vibrant colours and provocative imagery. Featured in Stevenson Gallery and Everard Read Johannesburg.

  • Anton Kannemeyer

    Cape Town–born artist and co-founder of Bitterkomix magazine (1992). Known for provocative work engaging with South African racial politics. Studied graphic design and illustration at the University of Stellenbosch; his confrontational style has drawn both praise and criticism.

  • Claudette Schreuders

    Creates carved and painted wooden figures that explore post-apartheid African identity. Drawing from medieval church art, West African carving, and Spanish portraiture, her sculptures bridge European and African traditions while deliberately avoiding familiar or comfortable representations.

  • Boemo Diale

    Self-taught artist and film student whose paintings explore racial identity and spatial navigation in post-apartheid South Africa. She uses distinctive yellow and black figures — set in foliage-rich scenes — to examine her experience of moving between predominantly black and white spaces.

  • Alexis Schofield

    Painter who creates impressionistic compositions from found photographs, his own archive, and AI-generated images. Works with charcoal drawings, pouring inks, and oil on raw canvas, layering materials and textures to build meaning.

  • Koos (of Jana + Koos)

    One half of the internationally acclaimed design duo Jana + Koos. Koos is a South Africa–based illustrator, designer and photographer.

  • Fanie Buys (Faninani)

    South African painter working under the online handle Faninani. His Passage Light series depicts the warm glow of household lights from within the confines of traditional middle-class South African homes.

  • Gone Rural

    A collective of master weavers based in Eswatini (Swaziland) producing contemporary craft objects rooted in traditional technique.