ART(ist) #15
Sibusiso Bheka
Sibusiso Bheka is a South African photographer born in 1997 in Thokoza, South Africa. He is introduced to photography in 2012 through the Of Soul and Joy project, a vocational integration programme through photography led by Rubis Mécénat for more than 10 years in the township of Thokoza. Since then, his work has been exhibited internationnaly and was shortlisted for several prestigious awards. He is now represented by Afronova Gallery (Johannesburg).
Sibusiso Bheka’s work documents his environment by night, giving us to see his reality of the township of Thokoza; its playful moments almost surreal just before light disappears. His work is a testimony to South Africa’s violent past as well as a celebration of the intense beauty that can be found in the details of daily life in a township.
Born in 1997 in Thokoza, South Africa. Lives and works in Thokoza, South Africa. Sibusiso Bheka is Of Soul and Joy’s Project Assistant. His series Stop Nonsense was part of the 11th edition Rencontres de Bamako -African Biennale of photography in 2017 as a traveling exhibition. The series was also shown at the National Museum of World Culture, Leiden, Netherlands in 2018. Bheka was shortlisted for the Magnum Foundation Photography and Social Justice Fellowship in 2018 and in the 2019 he was nominated for the Joop Swart Masterclass and shortlisted for the CAP Prize for Contemporary African Photography. His work was shown at the Ithuba Arts Gallery, Johannesburg (2013), the Addis Foto Fest, Ethiopia (2014), the Ghent International Photo Festival, Belgium (2015), the Johannesburg Art Gallery in South Africa (2016), Arles Photo Encounters (2020) Bristol Photo Festival (2021).