My name is Mlamuli Mkhwanazi a Johannesburg based artist from Empembeni in the homesteads of Kwa-Zulu Natal.
My body of work is a visual African library that shares ancient archives from both our reality and fantasy as human beings. It’s inspired by African cultures/spirituality and its contribution to the survival of humankind. As a visual shaman, these ancestral visual regurgitations are channelled through a trance like state which mirrors many dimensions and spheres of life. These dimensions and spheres of life are captured through faces and surreal compositions by using a wide range of mediums and techniques.
A spiritual decision was taken not to stick to one style, as life has a wide spectrum of energies and emotions that collectively give our lives meaning and balance. For us to truly start living our lives to the fullest, my art teaches humankind how to heal, cry, dream, laugh, believe, love, unite, forgive, and more importantly preserve our existence.
The characters that I paint are harvested from dreams or there are given to me by the universe through Gamma rays or musical vibrations. These faces are not filtered in their emotions, to serve as a reminder that in these modern times, most people’s faces, lives, and intentions are filtered. So, we must learn to protect our energies yet living to the fullest.
Each face has a story to tell…whose story are you telling?
Selected Exhibitions
- Top 100 Barclays L’Atelier Exhibition
- Henry George gallery group exhibition (Joburg)
- Joburg Art Fair “FNB” group exhibition
- KZNSA members group exhibition
- Umhlabelo at Atelier Shop 2 with Amasosha) Group exhibition
- Reflection, group exhibition at Bat Centre
- Johannesburg Art Fair Fringe ( Mabonenang)
- Group exhibition, Fresh produced at Turbine Art Fair
- Hilton Art Festival, Group exhibition
- Collective gallery, Group exhibition
- Durban Art Gallery, Group exhibition
- Ababhemu, group exhibition at 8 Morrison Street
- Group exhibition, Florida
- Bowman Gilfillan,Group exhibition
- Art Eye Gallery (50 shades of Grey) group exhibition
- IKhono laseNatali By Zanele Muholi (group exhibition)
Commissions & Collections
- Private collection: Jullie Miller Investment Art
- Durban Art Gallery Private collection
- Private collection: Canada, UK, USA, Russia, China, Ghana, Argentina, Czechia, Qatar, England
- Private collection: Department of Art and Culture
- Commission for: Hugh Masikela, Zakes Bantwini, Somizi Mhlongo and more.






