The art of reclaimed leather portraiture

South African artist Abongile Sidzumo creates portraits and landscapes by assembling discarded leather offcuts to depict people and places from his community in Langa, South Africa. During the live demonstration at Homo Faber 2026, Abongile will create a portrait from a photograph taken on site. Starting with a drawing, he will cut and assemble individual pieces of leather to build the face through variations in tone, before hand stitching the composition with nylon thread. The evolving work offers a firsthand view of how strips of waste leather can be gradually transformed into a detailed portrait.

Exhibitor

Abongile Sidzumo​

Leather artist | Cape Town, South Africa