NOLUNGILE Artwork

MASONWABE NTLOKO (B. 1996) IS A VISIONARY VISUAL ARTIST WHOSE WORK IS DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE VIBRANT AND ANCIENT XHOSA CULTURE. THROUGH HIS EXCEPTIONAL TALENT AND CREATIVE EXPRESSION, HE HAS BUILT A VISUAL LANGUAGE THAT CAPTIVATES AUDIENCES WORLDWIDE, BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN TRADITION AND CONTEMPORARY ART.BORN AND RAISED IN THE EASTERN CAPE OF SOUTH AFRICA, NTLOKO WAS PASSIONATELY EXPOSED TO THE RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE XHOSA PEOPLE FROM A YOUNG AGE. SURROUNDED BY THE TRADITIONAL RITUALS, CEREMONIES, AND FOLKLORE, HE BECAME ENCHANTED WITH THE BEAUTY AND SYMBOLISM ENCOMPASSED WITHIN THESE ANCIENT CUSTOMS. THIS EARLY IMMERSION LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR HIS ARTISTIC JOURNEY, AS HE VOWED TO HONOR AND CELEBRATE HIS HERITAGE THROUGH HIS INNOVATIVE WORKS. NTLOKO'S ART IS A MESMERIZING BLEND OF VIVID COLORS, INTRICATE PATTERNS, AND CAPTIVATING MOTIFS, EACH CAREFULLY SELECTED TO REPRESENT DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF XHOSA CULTURE. FROM THE BOLD GEOMETRIC SHAPES THAT PAY HOMAGE TO ANCESTRAL SYMBOLS, TO THE DELICATE GEOMETRIC PRINT. THAT MIMIC THE FLOW OF TRADITIONAL XHOSA BEADWORK, HIS ART HARMONIOUSLY INTERTWINES TRADITION AND MODERNITY. WHEN MASONWABE WAS A STUDENT AT THE NELSON MANDELA UNIVERSITY (GRAD 2018), HE RECEIVED AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTERN FOR ONE OF SOUTH AFRICAS BIGGEST BRANDS MAXHOSA AFRICA . THAT OPENNED HIS EYES TO THE DIFFERENT WAYS ONE CAN EXPRESS THEMSELVES ARTISTICALLY,LEARN ABOUT ALL THE OTHER ASPECTS OF THE ART AND DESIGN INDUSTRY AND FROM THERE HE STARTED BUILDING HIS PERSONAL BRAND AS MASONWABE NTLOKO. ALONG THE WAY HE HAS COLLABORATED WITH BOTH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BRANDS SUCH AS MARKHAM, AIRLOOM, MANDELA LEGACY, CHARLOTTE MAXEKE INSTITUTION, ROCKING THE DAISIES, WARNER MUSIC AFRICA, YOGI SIP. ALL THESE EXPERIENCES HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO WHO HE HAS BECOME TODAY AS HE’S LEARNT FROM EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. MASONWABE HAS DEVELOPED A REPUTATION OF DROPPING HIGHLY ANTICIPATED COLLABORATIONS THAT SELL OUT WITH IN HOURS, IN 2022 HE HOSTED AND CURATED HIS FIRST RUG EXHIBITION WITH AIRLOOM AND RECIECED AND OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE RESPONSE. MASONWABE HAS ALSO DONE WORK IN THE FIELD OF DESIGN AND CREATIVE DIRECTION IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRTY .