WORDS Celeste Jacobs
The Durban-born and based artist Kev Seven’s new mural pays homage to African identity in relation to its space in the global landscape.
Kevin Ngwenya AKA Kev Seven recently completed a new mural. It’s a colourful and bold typographic treatment of the word ‘heita’. It bursts onto the scene with the kind of cheery expression as the utterance of the word itself. Slang for hello, heita is as quintessentially South African as cream soda and Amapiano. Added to that, the mural depicts a portrait of a woman wearing a bold pair of lime-tinted sunglasses in the foreground.
Kev’s work focuses on showcasing the relationship between art and design, as well as its impact on pop-culture. Previously, his work has explored themes related to empowering women through fashion and boosting arts and culture through tourism. “I’m a conceptual artist trained in fine art, graphic design and cultural studies. For me, design drives ideas, conversations and messaging in public and private spaces,” says Kev.
The mural is located in the historical Noble Park, Durban and has been sponsored by Plascon in collaboration with SJ Artists as part of an initiative to add more colour to public spaces.
“I’m honoured to have been recognised by such a prestigious brand whose paint products are number one on my supplies when doing murals. Thank you to SJ Artists for putting together this amazing mural project, that sees and recognises public art all over South Africa as an important framework in the development of society and as an informative tool for communicating and sharing perspectives.”
Kev Seven
Connect with Kev on Instagram.
