Abongile Sidzumo
Leather artist
Cape Town, South Africa
Xhosa landscapes of leather
- Abongile works with leather scraps to create portraits and landscapes
- His practice is rooted in his Xhosa cultural identity
- He combines hand and machine stitching with leather embossing and engraving
Working with leather offcuts, Abongile Sidzumo builds mixed media works that speak to migrant labour, displacement and Xhosa cultural identity. He studied fine art and majored in sculpture at the Michaelis School of Fine Art. "It was there that I discovered the expressive potential of found and unconventional materials, chosen for both their accessibility and their inherent meaning," Abongile says. The leather bag is a recurring and important symbol in his work. "The bag was carried by those moving in search of work. It is a marker of lives in constant motion," he explains. Abongile's figures and landscapes are drawn from his own community in Cape Town's Langa and the people who appear in his work are the people he sees every day.
INTERVIEW
As a sculpture major, I was searching for my own visual language. I found it in leather bags, which powerfully held the history of migrant labour in South Africa: individuals carrying their entire lives in search of work. Leather became my defining material.
I work with offcuts from leather wholesalers, giving new life to materials that would otherwise be discarded. Since the beginning, my practice has been shaped by affordability and accessibility. Resourcefulness is central to how I work.
I learned the craft on my own. Growing up, if my shoe was torn, I repaired it myself., and that instinct has stayed with me. Later, I taught myself leather embossing by watching YouTube videos.
In Xhosa culture, the cow carries enormous symbolic weight. It represents wealth, sustenance and a living connection with our ancestors. It is a way of thinking back to a time before townships, when people lived in close connection to nature.
Abongile Sidzumo
Leather artist
Cape Town, South Africa
ADDRESS
Address upon request, Cape Town, South Africa
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
LANGUAGES
Xhosa, English
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