Artists We Love: Setlamorago Mashilo

INTERVIEWED BY Malibongwe Tyilo IMAGES Rina Noto and Setlamorago Mashilo

As the winner of the inaugural Turbine Art Fair and Sylt Emerging Artist Award (TASA) in 2014, Setlamorago Mashilo spent two months this past autumn – spring in the northern hemisphere – on an artist residency in Sylt, Germany’s nothernmost island, which is as famous for its seclusion as it is for its 40 kilometre-long sandy beach.

We caught up with this young artist for the Dec/Jan issue of VISI.

The island sounds quite secluded. Is it as quiet as it seems? 

Incredibly so, especially considering it is about 16 km from the mainland. But the demographics and economic standing of the island could have a lot to do with perpetuating the idea of it being a lonely place, it certainly is not the most affordable place for anyone, but beautiful nonetheless.

How was that experience?

It was an exorcism of self in many ways. The language barrier bothers you to some extent – especially when you’re an interactive person. It was perhaps much more of a culture shock to them as there are not a lot, if any, people of colour who reside there. I was exposed to a lot of German Expressionist and Impressionist art, and was very lucky to have had private viewings of artworks by Emil Nolde, Siegward Sprotte, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and some of the pioneers of Die Brücke art movement. The whole experience revived my artistic practice and the need to travel more and show my works elsewhere.

What did you do on a daily basis?

I was very intrigued by the agricultural landscape, which I spent some days photographing. I also met an artist by the name of Michael Struck who was generous and kind enough to let me use his printing studio. That allowed me to fill my days with producing new works on a daily basis and exploring new mediums. On quieter days, I had a beautiful piano in my residence that I started playing now and again when I missed my jazz collection.

Reading about your previous work, like the Mabu a u Tswitswe installation, your work sounds quite close to South Africa, our history and our issues. How does creating work so far from home affect your outlook? Does it have any influence at all?

It does. I became more sensitive and critical of the situation back home. When you are 9000 km from home, there are seemingly very obvious trajectories that are synonymous with your own. So even though I was using images of the German landscape as reference, suddenly the images connote a certain iconography, which I think is reminiscent of the discourse in South Africa and Africa. There are also a number of dualities at play here, absence versus presence, fertile versus barren, which of course all have a significant reference to my sculptural works in Mabu a u Tswitswe, Bodulo and Setima Mello (‘The Snuffer of Fires’).

Please tell us a bit more about the work that you produced while on the island?

I developed a whole new series of large monoprints titled The Lands Lord through which I continue the narrative on Mabu a u Tswitswe. They feature silhouettes of humans with red beaks, which is a reference to a bird referred to in Sepedi as ‘Ponyane’ (Red-billed Quelea). The Red-billed Queleas live and migrate in huge flocks that come together and co-operate to find suitable spaces to occupy. These birds settle rapidly and can cause serious damage to spaces they occupy. I found this to be quite synonymous with our own behaviour as humans through whatever causes of migration we see today, but of course quite importantly our political history in Africa and South Africa.

What are you working on at the moment? Any upcoming exhibitions we should know about?

I am currently working on a charity project for the kids of Kaalfontein in Midrand, where my studio is based. This will culminate in a large installation that will be auctioned off to put a number of these children into school, which currently they do not attend. I am also busy with new bodies of work for my upcoming shows in 2016 with Lizamore & Associates on Feb 27th, Fried Contemporary on April 28th, Shanghai Art Fair from Nov 12th – 15th, and Art On Paper Miami from Dec 1st – 6th. I am also looking forward to the local fairs, Turbine and Cape Town Art Fair and my residency with Bag Factory Art Studios.