Lesego Seoketsa
South Africa
Questionnaire
- How do you navigate the tensions between local cultural narratives and global art markets in your work?
I honestly try not to think about the global art markets in my work. I am more interested in what artists across the globe are creating, and how they are capturing the time we are living in. I am also deeply invested in local cultural narratives, this says a lot about my environment and what the people around me are going through, and I link that to my own experience. So the global art markets become an abstract thing for me, I am more interested in the times we are living in.
- Can you share a moment when your environment or community unexpectedly influenced a piece you created?
I carry my environment and community with me everywhere I go, so it’s a big part of my work. My work is centred around identity, and what it means to be a human being. The black church, South African townships, black families, black voices, all of these are the reason for why I would even create any piece. I live and breathe in these influences.
- What role does play, experimentation, or even mistakes have in your creative process?
I try to not focus too much on the outcome of the image I am trying to achieve. My focus is more on the experimentation, I mix colours a lot, sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t. I also interpret silhouettes from my skill level, I can reference a perfect circle but it would probably come out as an oval because of skill and ability. There’s a tension between wanting to improve your own artistic techniques vs embracing your flaws as part of the art, I think a lot of times I sit in this tension and I am still finding my way around it for now. I believe in humour and play very much, I listen to stand up comedy as I paint most times. It helps me to feel less tense about how the work will be perceived.
- Looking forward, how do you envision the future of African contemporary art evolving, and what is your role within that trajectory?
I would really love for us, as Africans, to find more ease in our processes and in making the work. To also allow diversity and fun in the art we appreciate, and to understand that this doesn’t mean we are letting go of excellence. The work I make is not hyper realistic, neither is it rooted in struggle. I explore our identity out of curiosity, not with conclusions and solidified agendas. I wish more space was created for this. I think my role is to communicate this desire in my work.