• Pebofatso Mokoena I Johannesburg, South Africa
    |   by Arafa Hamadi   

    Recipient of one of the 'Assemblage Studios' scholarships, South African young artist  Pebofatso Mokoena presents here some of the works that earned him the award.

    sibling rivalry
    'Sibling Rivalry': this work is part of a series of 6 small format drypoint prints which reflect on how people in my community of Thokoza (East of Johannesburg) lost their loved ones. This particular print deals with the story of two cousins being separated, as one sibling went to prison, leaving the other to fend life without his cousin's support.
    hiv
    'HIV/Aids': this print is also  part of the series of 6 small format drypoint prints which reflect on how people in my community of Thokoza lost their loved ones. HIV/Aids deals with the high prevalence of HIV cases in lower-income communities. With this work I want to make the viewer aware of how heartbreaking it is when HIV affects young people, and about the virus multiple psychological impacts.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    our great future
    The work 'Our Great Future' was created after a dream, which dealt with people in the near future becoming something else, almost technological devices Through the process of a deeply ritualistic event, like a burial, and through the metaphor of satellites replacing real persons, I wanted to delve deeper into the psychological repercussion of loss but this time veering into a slightly stranger kind of experience.

     

    Mainly through printmaking, Pebofatso’s works deal with the psychological issues surrounding mass-incidents, family loss and loss of communication. They are preoccupied with the psychological effects of losing a part of one’s self or a family member or relative. His works try to explore how people go about filling those particular voids in their own families or in themselves.

    Having suffered from depression while in high school, coupled with the deep loss of his grandmother when in 8th grade, the artist’s deep-rooted personal loss is reflected in his drawing and prints. Pebofatso uses art to let go of these traumas, thus reminding others of the importance of family relationships.

    “Earning this scholarship" he says, "will give me the opportunity to expand my work and will help me grow as an artist. It will bring forth new spaces to explore and the messages I try to convey will gain a wider reach..."

     

    See Pebofatso's profile on this site here.

    Website: http://pmokoena.blogspot.com