Matlali Matabane

Born in Maseru, Lesotho Matlali came to art later in life. She began her professional career in the corporate world, deciding in 2019 to switch full time into the arts. She is now currently enrolled in an Interdisciplinary Arts and Cultural Studies degree at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa where she had built a digital media creative practice focused on themes of femininity, Bosotho (those peoples native to Lesotho and South Africa), and representation politics.

Her series presented in We Are Afrika, “Body Politics”, experiments with the narratives of Bosotho identity as it is a cultural storehouse. The compositions, layering, and muted color tones of her pieces explore the female Bosotho experience, its rich history, and connects it to the philosophical landscape of Southern Africa. The works also tap into the heritage of decorative pieces in African cultures.

In pursuing a career in the arts, with exhibitions in Ghana and Lesotho, Matlali also seeks to explore the power of the visual in educational setting, looking at how visual storytelling can help younger generations build literacy and creative problems solving skills and understand their own cultural histories more fully.