Nontsikelelo Veleko

Nontsikelelo 'Lolo' Veleko (born 19 August 1977 in Bodibe, North West Province) is a South African photographer most notably recognised for her depiction of black identity, urbanisation and fashion in post-apartheid South Africa.[1]

Life and work

Nontsikelelo Veleko grew up in Cape Town and attended the Luhlaza High School in Khayelitsha. In 1995 she studied graphic design at the Cape Technikon. After moving to Johannesburg, Veleko studied photography at the Market Theatre Photo Workshop(1999–2004), an organisation co-founded by David Goldblatt which aims to provide formal training to young photographers who would have otherwise not have access to such resources.[1]

In 2003, Veleko documented graffiti throughout Cape Town and Johannesburg, a series she titles 'The ones on top won't make it Stop!' in her first solo exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery. These photographs encapsulated the social and political atmosphere of post-apartheid South Africa.[2] This same year, Veleko was nominated for the MTN New Contemporaries Arts Awards. This well-recognized competition identifies four rising South African artist and selects a winner amongst them.Throughout the next couple of years, Veleko's work was showcased in various exhibitions throughout South Africa, Europe and Australia.[3]

In 2006, her photographs were part of the group exhibition, ‘Snap Judgments: New Positions in Contemporary African Photography, at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York. There, the bold and lively portraits depicting South Africa street style from her series Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder attracted a great deal of attention, shifting previous perceptions of Africa as a whole on an international scale. Veleko explains that she looks at fashion “and how it creates identity, because fashion plays with identity”. In regards to the title of the series, she states: “I thought the way I see beauty and the way I perceive beauty might be different to someone else next to me...So the project is called Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder, because for me they are beautiful.” [2] Alongside this, Veleko has also implemented clothing ‘to deliberately challenge assumptions of identity based on appearances and historical background’.[2] Such is evident in her earlier and more personal project from 2002, www.notblackenough.lolo, which depicted an exploration of mixed cultural and racial identity through different costumes of role play.[2]

In 2006, Veleko’s work was also exhibited in ‘Personae & Scenarios-the new African photography’ at the Brancolini Grimaldi Arte Contemporanea in Rome, Italy. That same year, her photographs were displayed in the exhibition titled ‘Olvida Quien Soy- Erase Me from Who I Am’ at the Centro Atlantico de Arte Mordeno in Las Palmas, Canary Islands.[1] In 2007, Veleko's work and reputation reached a larger international audience with her work being exhibited throughout Southern Africa, Europe, Asia, North and South America.[4] She has also been a part of famed shows such as ‘7th Recontres Africaines de la Photographie exhibition’ As her During this year, she also received a two-month residency with the International Photographic Research Network (IPRN) in the UK where she explored the notions of work, identity and clothes.[1] In 2008, Veleko was the second photographer to be awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist for Visual Art for her travelling exhibition titled ‘Wonderland’. This project focuses on familiar aspects of her previous work such as fashionable street-goers, primarily younger adults, as well as graffiti and personal spaces. Through exploration of such subjects Veleko continues to delve deeper and defy clichés of outdated perceptions of South Africans, and Africans in a larger context, that have been largely focused on the notions of fashion and the way of life.[1] ‘Wonderland’ not only displays the unique personalities of eclectically dressed urbanites but also captures the cosmopolitan nature of cities such as Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.[1]

Veleko's work presents a strong statement of a younger generation that is loud, self-expressive and daring; a collection of youth she strongly relates to. Such sentiments are evident in the photographs resulting from what she considers to be a 'collaborative process'. The portraits are taken after being granted permission from the subjects. She gives copies of the photos to their rightful owners and invites them to the exhibition openings. For the ongoing series of graffiti shots under the title 'The ones on top won't make it Stop', Veleko met the graffiti artists and continued to follow the progress of those whose style she favoured.[5]

Reviews

In their discussion of her striking photography, critics have cited that "It was a shock- an awakening shock- to come upon the bursting contemporary colours worn by the fashion-struck people portrayed by Nontsikelelo "Lolo" Veleko on the streets of Johannesburg".[2] Others have related the fashion-savvy subjects of Veleko's street portraits to the widely recognisable image of 'hipsters' "dressed in electric, Kool-Aid colours [whose] incorrigible chic and appropriations of Western icons...proclaim them heirs to Ke dandified Bamakois bourgeoisie".[2] Leslie Camhi of The Village Voice (2006) further noted:

If independence has a style, this is it- vivid, highly individualised, and a touch defiant. These images are antidotes to the prevailing view of the ‘dark continent’ as a place of entropy and despair; these are people in charge of at least their own sartorial destiny.[2]

Currently

Nontsikelelo Veleko is currently living and working in Johannesburg. She is also a project manager/co-coordinator at the Market Photo Workshop, where she was previously a student.[6] Veleko is represented by the Goodman Gallery.[4]

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

Group Exhibitions

2012 11th Havana Biennial- La Bienal de la Habana, Havana, Cuba[7]

2011 Summer Show- The Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg[7]

2011 'Africalls?' in Ghana- Casa África, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria[7]

2011 Figures & Fictions: Contemporary South African Photography- Victoria & Albert Museum- V&A, London (England)[7]

2011 Darkroom: Photography and New Media in South Africa since 1950- Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL[7]

2010 FINE ART 2010- ARTCO Galerie Gmbh, Herzogenrath[7]

2010 Darkroom: Photography and New Media in South Africa since 1950- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia, USA[7]

2010 PEEKABOO- Current South Africa- Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki[7]

2010 Ampersand- A Dialogue of Contemporary Art from South Africa & the Daimler Art Collection- Daimler Contemporary, Berlin[7]

2010 Always Moving Forward- Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, Toronto, ON[7]

2009 Armory Show, Goodman Gallery, New York City [4]

2009 prêt-á- partager, touring several West African cities[4]

2009 7th Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie exhibition – Bamako 2007, ifa- Galleries, Stuttgart, Germany[4]

2009 Beauty and Pleasure in Contemporary South African Art, Stenersen Museum, Oslo, Norway[4]

2008 101 Tokyo, International Contemporary Art Fair, Afronova Gallery, Tokyo, Japan [6]

2008 Flow, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York City [4]

2008 Reality Check: Contemporary Art Photography from South Africa, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa [4]

2008 Regeneration: Contemporary South African Art, Kyle Kauffman Gallery, New York City[4]

2008 Fragile Democracy: New International Photography, Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art, Sunderland, UK[4]

2008 I Am Not Afraid: The Market Photo Workshop, Kunsthaus, Graz, Austria [4]

2008 .ZA: Young Art from South Africa, Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena, Italy [4]

2008 About Beauty, Goodman Gallery Cape, Cape Town, South Africa[4]

2007 Not So Black and White: Contemporary South African Art, Kyle Kauffman Gallery, New York City [4]

2007 Dans la ville et au-delá : 7th Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie, Bamako, Mali[4]

2007 Zeitgenosssiche Fotokunst aus Sudafrika, Kunstmuseum Bochum, Bochum Germany[4]

2007 DESIRREALITIES, Espace St Denis, Paris, France[4]

2007 Apartheid: The South African Mirror, curated by Pep Subiros, Centre de Cultura de Barcelona, Spain[4]

2007 The Loaded Lens, Goodman Gallery Cape, Cape Town, South Africa[4]

2007 Fashion, Nontsikelelo Veleko & Seydou Keita, Danziger Projects, New York City[4]

2007 Reality Check: Zeitgenössische Fotokunst aus Südafrika, NBK Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin, Germany[4]

2007 PHOTOANA: Rendez-vous Photographie Ocean Indien, Antananarivo, Madagascar 2007 Cape 07, Cape Africa Platform, Spier, Stellenbosch and Lookout Hill, Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South[4] Africa

2007 Juicios Instantaneous, Museo Tamayo, Paseo de la Reforma y Ghandhi, Mexico[4]

2007 Lift Off Part II, Goodman Gallery Cape, Cape Town, South Africa[4]

2006 Snap Judgments: New Positions in Contemporary African Photography, curated by Okwui Enwezor, International Center of Photography, New York City[4]

2006 Personae & Scenarios: The New African Photography, Brancolini Grimaldi Arte Contemporanea, Rome, Italy[4]

2006 WOMEN: Photography and New Media, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa [4]

2006 International Contemporary Photography: The Living is Easy, Flowers, East Gallery, London, UK [4]

2006 Uninhabited Territories, West Space, Melbourne, Australia 2006 Bieler Fototage: Physiognomie, Museum Schwabe, Biel, Switzerland[4]

2006 Freestyle, Sanlam Fashion Week, Johannesburg, South Africa[4]

2006 Group Show, Afronova Contemporary Art Gallery, Newtown, Johannesburg, South Africa[4]

2006 Second to None, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa[4]

2006 Olvida Quien Soy: Erase Me from Who I Am, Centro Atlantico De Arte Moderno, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria[4]

2005 Click, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa[4]

2005 Next Wave Festival, Commonwealth Games, Melbourne, Australia[4]

2004–6 Unsettled: 8 South African Photographers, The National Museum of Photography, The Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark (travelling exhibition to Sweden; Iceland; KwaZulu Natal and Cape Town, South Africa)[4]

2004–5 Negotiated Identities: Black Bodies, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa 2004 Is everybody comfortable, Market Photography Workshop exhibition, Fortoleza, Maputo, Mozambique[4]

2004 Urban Life: Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder, Market Photography Workshop exhibition, Jahnitos, Maputo, Mozambique[4]

2004 The Ones on Top Won’t Make it Stop!, Cine Africa, Maputo, Mozambique[4]

2004 Is everybody comfortable, Market Photography Workshop exhibition, Bensusan Museum of Photography, Johannesburg, South Africa[4]

2004 Min(e)dfields, Kunsthaus Baselland, Muttenz/Basel, Switzerland[4]

2004 Lo-mo-graphy, PhotoZA, Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa[4]

2004 Urban Life, Market Photography Workshop exhibition, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa[4]

2004 A Decade of Democracy: Witnessing South Africa, The Museum of the National Centre of Afro-American Artists in Boston, MA, USA; KZNSA Gallery, Durban, South Africa[4]

2003 Fragments of the City, 6 women photographers defining the city and popular culture in SA, Bensusan Museum of Photography, Johannesburg, South Africa[4]

2003 MTN New Contemporaries 2003, Museum Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa [4]

2003 The Ones on Top Won’t Make it Stop!, Bensusan Museum of Photography,Johannesburg, South Africa[4]

2003 African Day Celebration, Shivava Cafe, Newtown, Johannesburg, South Africa[4]

2003 Playtime Festival, Bensusan Museum of Photography, Johannesburg, South Africa[4]

2002 SHARP, Market Photography Workshop, Market Theatre, Johannesburg; KZNSA Gallery, Durban, South Africa[4]

2001 MOVE, Market Photography Workshop, Market Theatre, Johannesburg, South Africa [4]

2000 Joubert Park Public Art Project, Johannesburg Art Gallery,Johannesburg, South Africa [4]

2000 SEEN, spark! Gallery, Norwood, Johannesburg, South Africa[4]

Awards & Nominations

2008 Standard Bank Young Artist Award 2008 Nominated for the KLM Paul Huf Photography Award, Netherlands[4]

2007 International Photography Research Network (IPRN), Residency, Sunderland, UK[4]

2003 MTN New Contemporaries, Nominee, Johannesburg South Africa [4]

2002 ProHelvetia – iaab and MPW – 3-month internship, Basel, Switzerland[4]

Collections

South Africa: Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa[4]

International: Flowers East Gallery, London, UK [4]

James Danziger Projects, New York City [4]

International Center of Photography, New York City [4]

Brancolini Grimaldi Arte Contemporanea, Rome, Italy[4]

Books

Comely, R; Hallett, G; Hallett; Neo, N (eds). 2006. Woman by Woman: 50 Years of Women’s Photography in South Africa. Wits University Press, Johannesburg, South Africa.[4]

Maart, B; Lemon, T. J. Introduction by David Goldblatt. 2002. SHARP: The Market Photography Workshop. The Market Photography Workshop, Johannesburg, South Africa.[4]

Perryer, S (ed). 2004. 10 Years 100 Artists: Art in a Democratic South Africa. Bell Roberts Publishing in association with Struik Publishing, Cape Town, South Africa. ISBN 1868729877[4]

2004. The Fatherhood Project: 2003–2004. Child, Youth and Family Development (CYFD), Human Sciences Research Council, HSRC Press, Pretoria, South Africa.[4]

Selected Articles and Reviews

Portfolio Bamako, Le Monde2, Paris, France, 2007.[4]

Portfolio Bamako, Afrique Magazine, Paris, France, 2007.[4]

I AM NOT AFRAID: The Market Photo Workshop, Camera Austria 100th issue catalogue, Graz, Austria, 2007.[4]

Art South Africa, Bell-Roberts Publishing, South Africa, volume 4.4, 2006.[4]

Zeit: Newspaper Magazine, Berlin.[4]

Gauteng Waya Waya, Gauteng tourism publication, Johannesburg, South Africa April–May 2004.[4]

Agenda Feminist Magazine, Durban, South Africa, Sept/Oct 2003.[4]

The Sunday Times, Johannesburg, South Africa, March, April, August 2003.[4]

THIS DAY, Johannesburg, South Africa, November 2003.[4]

The Citizen, Johannesburg, South Africa, November 2003.[4]

Catalogues

Damsbo, Mads 2004. Unsettled: 8 South African Photographers, The National Museum of Photography, The Royal Library, Copenhagen.[4]

Enwezor, Okwui 2006. Snap Judgments: New Positions in Contemporary African Photography. International Center of Photography, New York.[4]

Lehtonen, Kimmo (ed). 2007. IPRN Changing Faces #3. Van Wyk, Gary (ed). 2004. A Decade of Democracy: Witnessing South Africa. Sondela, Boston.[4]

Waselchuk, Lori 2004. Is everybody comfortable.[4]

Vergon, Henri 2007. Two Years of Afronova. Afronova, Johannesburg.[4]

Smith,Kathryn 2003. MTN New Contemporaries. MTN, Johannesburg.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Maurice, E., Dodd, R., & Nhlanhla, N. "Standard Bank: A Learner Resource on the art of Nontsikelelo Veleko" (PDF). Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Murinik, Tracy. "Nontsikelelo Veleko". Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  3. ↑ "MTN New Contemporaries Arts Awards".
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 nontsikeleloveleko.pdf "Nontsikelelo Veleko Biography" Check |url= value (help) (PDF). |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  5. ↑ "Nontsikelelo Veleko" (PDF). South African Art Now. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Nontsikelelo Veleko". Afronova Gallery. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Nontsikelelo 'Lolo' Veleko". ARTFACTS.NET. Retrieved 2 May 2013.

Bibliography

Perryer, Sophie (2004). 10 Years 100 Artists: Art In A Democratic South Africa. Cape Town: Struik. ISBN 1868729877. 

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