The people who bring us into the world — our parents — have the power to leave an indelible mark on who we eventually become. Whether they are around, it is only later in life that we come to realise how they affected much of our existence. Some of us never come to terms with it, but many are determined to. Artist Lerato Nkosi falls into the latter category.
Nkosi is the recipient of the first Anna Award — a collaboration between the manufacturers of SA’s first organic, locally manufactured sanitary pads range and Latitudes, the art fair that has, since the pandemic, reinvented itself as an online art marketplace.
Using ink and stamps as an allegory for the imprint of parenthood, Nkosi’s work goes deeper to explore social expectation of women, and existing as a woman in general. “Whatever you are taught as a child shapes you in ways you may not know until you begin to look inward,” she says. “Being raised by my mom until I was about 12 played a big role in my life and that’s the message I want to impart: how forceful a woman’s role is in shaping future generations.
“I find that ink and stamps resonate with that. These are materials that don’t leave any surface the same after getting into contact with it. Stamps and ink are used to verify and ordain documents of importance. This is something that only people in positions of authority can do.”
As such, for her entry, Nkosi submitted a body of work titled Power & Privilege. One of the works in this body is a portrait of a woman with a child on her lap. “It says a lot without saying much. The child is an empty vessel that can be filled. She gets to impart her own knowledge, strengths and weaknesses to the child.”
To get to this point, Nkosi, a former stylist and fashion producer, sought to find her voice and to differentiate from other artists who explore similar themes. Born and raised in Selela, Mpumalanga, by her mother and father, she soon had to change homes after her father's death. “My uncle took me in because my mother was suddenly single. They wanted to give me a family structure, so I was raised by him and his wife alongside their own children.”
In high school, Nkosi would go against her uncle’s wishes, ditching subjects such as physics in favour of art, which she was determined, and managed to pass with distinction, to prove that this is where her passion lies.
After matric she studied fashion at Tshwane University of Technology but working as a visual merchandiser afterwards proved “boring”. Other positions as a buyer and fashion producer for an online retailer followed, but none made her feel any more fulfilled.
She started making fashion-based artworks but felt they didn't reflect her own voice. “I started doing research into what it means to be an artist so I came up with a concept based on my beliefs,” she says.
By investigating her upbringing and the values instilled in her, and the knowledge she gained through her fashion work and education, Nkosi arrived at ink and stamps. “I wanted to find something that wasn’t very common. In fashion, a lot of fibres have to be dyed into a desired colour. Denim, for example, has to be processed to come up with the various shades that it comes in.”
Bell Hooks' All About Love: New Visions discusses aspects of love in modern society. Combining anecdotes as well as philosophical ideas, the book helped Nkosi to crystallise her own ideas on the subject.
“There’s a passage where she speaks about her parents and says her mom gave her love,” Nkosi explains. “Her mother had the power to create, build or destroy, and though she disagrees with some of her mom’s methods, and how she showed love, she learnt from that to eventually become who she was.”
All About love: New Visions is a title littered with powerful quotes about love, justice and feminism from an author renowned for influencing radical thoughts on the subjects she tackled. These are thoughts Nkosi absorbed and by extending these ideas into her own work, she is slowly building an audience with whom her message resonates.
Speaking of the Anna Award, Nkosi says it’s an opportunity for her work to find this audience. “There’s a lady who told me through social media that she’d seen my work on a window at Rand Merchant Bank. She didn’t know who the artist was but she eventually found out through reading about the Anna art prize and that I was a finalist.”
ABOUT THE AWARD
The new Anna Award is an annual contemporary art prize for women-identifying artists in SA. Its aim is to discover, recognise and nurture a new generation of talent. To keep it as inclusive as possible, no formal training is required, there are no age restrictions and artists can work in any medium.
As winner of the first prize, Nkosi receives R100,000, a month’s residency at Plaas #inplaasvan in Franschhoek, a profile on Latitudes Online, and a year’s supply of Anna products. See more of the finalists and their work at latitudes.online/anna-award
