In this interview with Joburg Post's 'Visionaries In Focus' column, Moleketi shares his creative process, inspiration, and experiences as an artist.

Solomzi Moleketi has an impressive background in Theatre Arts. Although painting was not his initial focus, he was introduced to it by his cousin, Bulumko Mbete, who is also an artist. 

Moleketi enrolled in the BA Fine Arts program at Wits University and has been creating art ever since. His work has an intense focus on landscapes, informed by extensive reading and research of oral and written histories of places and people. 

Moleketi's aim is to weave together many micro-histories to construct an idea of what a place could look like, to celebrate and honour it as a monument in itself. When asked about his creative process, Moleketi emphasises his passion for researching hidden moments locked within our heritage. 

He is committed to consistency, painting through all his emotions, and getting lost in the work as an abstract practitioner. For Moleketi, art is subjective, and he hopes people will engage with his work in a substantial manner, even if their interpretation is different from his.

Moleketi's art is in conversation with contemporary discussions surrounding topics such as land and navigating issues in a post-colonial reality. As long as his work remains relevant and engages in such conversations, Moleketi is not concerned with fitting into the mainstream art scene. 

He runs Blvck Block, a young artist development program located at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, aimed at creating an engaging and artistically diverse environment for black artists in South Africa, reclaiming discussions around blackness in contemporary art.

This is what Solomzi had to say in our exclusive interview with him. 

My name is Solomzi Moleketi, and I am an artist. I feel I've been a storyteller my whole life. I was engrossed in Theatre Arts in my youth and was privileged enough to travel to creative spaces beyond South Africa's borders. I actually started painting thanks to my cousin, Bulumko Mbete, who is an incredible artist. She took me and a few other cousins painting and it resonated with me deeply. I enrolled in the BA Fine Arts program at Wits University thereafter and I've been a painter ever since.

I build landscapes over time by reading and researching oral histories as well as written accounts of an area. From there, I construct an account of the history of the changes and disruptions endured by this area of land and its people. 

Ultimately, the objective of my oeuvre is to lace together many micro-histories and construct an idea of what a place could look like when not being surveyed for minerals but rather being celebrated and honoured as a monument in itself.  

Contemporary motifs as well as afrofuturist references populate my work in an attempt to distance the people depicted from a strictly unilateral relationship to colonialism. I'm a landscape artist so inevitably I paint spaces and places which hold the roots of cultures. Painting itself is a journey and as an abstract practitioner my goal is to get lost within the work, that's how I know I'm making progress.

A large part of my work relies on reading, listening to stories, and searching for rare accounts of various moments in history as told by indigenous people. I am fascinated by hidden moments locked within our heritage. My work is in constant pursuit of reconstructing histories that have been distorted because of colonialism.

At the core of my practice is a commitment to the work which means consistency. I paint through all my emotions. There are paintings I keep for myself which I don’t show.

I accept that part of art is understanding everyone will likely take something different from it. Art is subjective and I create work in the hopes that people will engage with the subject matter in a substantial manner.

An artwork that holds a special meaning to me is a diptych I created called 'A Quiet Storm'. It was for my first exhibition in Singapore. At the time I was researching common threads between indigenous cultures in Southern Africa and South East Asia. 

What caught my imagination were the traditions and sacred nature surrounding mountains and moving waters. I used that as a point of departure as I began to paint a landscape which held both. The artwork can be perceived in many ways, and I've heard a few which caught me by surprise. It is a painting of an island amidst a looming storm. 

However, the clouds and horizon are painted in such a fashion that it could also be perceived as a mountain range. The ability to implement many horizons in a single two-dimensional work allows layers and depths to encourage people to engage with the work and perhaps even see something different that I never intended. 

This was the first landscape I painted that was not specifically Southern African so it was a big task but I found it fulfilling. I'm moved by how other people's interpretations continue to bring new meaning to the work. 

I believe that as long as my work remains in conversation with contemporary discussions surrounding topics such as land, as well as how to navigate such issues in a post-colonial reality, then remaining up-to-date is not a concern. 

A friend and fellow artist Zul Mahmod once said to me that it is important to believe that your time will come so I think it's not necessarily about being consumed in the mainstream so much as knowing that there is something to your art, which people will hopefully understand one day. 

It is definitely a struggle which is why I set up Blvck Block, a young artist development program which is now located at Constitution Hill. Blvck Block aims at creating an engaging and artistically diverse environment for black artists in South Africa, in order to reclaim discussions around blackness in contemporary art. 

For more, you can check out the Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/blockblvck/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

The main challenge I gave is in my pursuit of information to feed the subject matter of my work. I pay great attention to keeping as faithful as possible to historically accurate narrations of history. 

Another obvious challenge is finding myself having to put a price on my work in order to sustain my career path as an artist. The pieces that I choose to exhibit often take weeks of research and planning, and while I ideally would not want to reduce my efforts to a monetary price, it is something I have to do in order to sustain my career as an artist. 

I have an exhibition opening in Singapore at LASALLE College of the Arts as part of my final exhibition toward my Master’s Degree. The two pieces showcased focus, particularly on the changes endured by landscapes and the transcendental relationship between land and people in pre-colonial Southern Africa. There is also the opening of the Blvck Block space in Constitution Hill at the Transwerk building which is very exciting.

 Link: https://www.lasalle.edu.sg/events/lasalle-show-2023-rationale-fables-ma-fine-arts-graduation-showcase 

I hope to create larger lasting works which correspond closer to post-colonial cartography. I am particularly interested in the haphazard nature of colonial delineation on the continent and hope to include this critique in my upcoming work. My hope is one day people will stand in front of my artwork and melt into the horizon as it takes them somewhere they'd like to go.

Solomzi Moleketi's artwork offers a unique perspective on landscapes, hidden histories, and indigenous cultures. Through his creative process, he constructs an idea of what a place could look like, celebrating and honouring it as a monument in itself. 

Moleketi's art continues to bring new meaning to people, and he hopes that his work engages people in a substantial way, even if their interpretation is different from his. 

By running Blvck Block, Moleketi is committed to creating a supportive environment for young black artists in South Africa, encouraging them to reclaim discussions around blackness in contemporary art.

Next week we explore the work and creative process of another artist whose interview you can not miss