Simphiwe Ndzube (South Africa 1990-)
Untitled Portrait II (The Gravediggers)

acrylic and spray paint on linen

Artwork date: 2018
Signature details: signed, dated and inscribed with the title and dimensions on the reverse
Exhibited: Stevenson, Cape Town, 'Simphiwe Ndzube: Uncharted Lands and Trackless Seas', 24 January to 13 March 2019.
Stevenson, Cape Town, '9 More Weeks', 18 September to 19 October 2018.

Literature: 'Simphiwe Ndzube: Uncharted Lands and Trackless Seas.' (2019). [Exhibition catalogue]. Stevenson, Cape Town, 24 January to 13 March 2019, illustrated on p. 39.
Exchange Rates*: USD 23 997 – 35 995
GBP 17 989 – 26 983
EURO 20 668 – 31 003

(1)

200 x 150 cm; framed size: 204 x 154 x 7 cm

Provenance:

Private collection, Cape Town.

Stevenson, Cape Town.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Born in 1990 and working between South Africa and Los Angeles, Simphiwe Ndzube has established himself as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary African art today. Drawing from themes of labour, migration and colonial history, Ndzube creates imagined worlds that blur the line between reality and fantasy. His painting, photography and sculptures form part of an evolving fictional universe known as Echoes of the First Stories, set within the mythological landscape of the Mine Moon.

In Portrait II (The Gravediggers), Ndzube balances a playful, spontaneous energy with a sinister undercurrent. The vibrant, textured strokes and bright, contrasting hues initially allure the viewer, yet a sense of foreboding quickly settles in. A striped hazard marker hangs precariously on a line to the right, hinting at industrial labour, boundaries, and imminent danger. Through this striking portrait, Ndzube explores how historical struggles and the realities of displacement can be reimagined through fantasy and allegory; a process deeply tied to his fascination with transformation and fluidity. As the artist explains, “I seem to be obsessed with things transitioning and inhabiting multiple dimensions of being and becoming.” [1]

This obsession makes movement central to Ndzube’s practice. His figures are rarely fixed in place; instead, they drift, climb, melt and journey through unstable landscapes. Here, this state of constant flux is visible in how the figure’s body seamlessly distorts, melting directly into the dark hull of a boat. Always on a journey to reach someone or somewhere unknown, the characters in Ndzube's universe are perpetually in transit, navigating unpredictable terrains that mirror the precarious nature of survival itself.

Shown in his debut solo exhibition with the Stevenson gallery, Cape Town, Uncharted Lands and Trackless Seas (2019), this painting uses imagined landscapes and dreamlike characters to explore very real experiences of displacement and survival. Through the shifting world of the Mine Moon, he creates a space where uncertainty and resilience exist side by side, offering a reflection on what it means to navigate an unstable world.

^{[1] Joja, A.M. (2019). Mail & Guardian, Fictive World is Not Escapist. [ONLINE]. Available: https://mg.co.za/article/2019-02-15-00-fictive-world-is-not-escapist/}

COLLECTOR'S NOTE

• Most recently, Simphiwe Ndzube completed a residency at the Thami Mnyele Foundation in Amsterdam, in collaboration with ZAM Magazine, culminating with his 17^th solo exhibition, Around Midnight, which showed at Stevenson, Amsterdam from 13 March to 31 May 2026.

• In 2025, Ndzube was selected as a featured artist for the Second Stellenbosch Triennale, Ba’zinzile: A Rehearsal for Breathing.

• Bienniale participation includes Pacific Gold for the California Biennial at the Orange County Museum of Art in California (2022), inclusion in the 15^th Lyon Biennale (2019) and inclusion in the Open Borders exhibition for the 14^th Curitiba International Biennial in Brazil (2019).

• Notable, international museum group presentations include Singular Views: 25 Artists at the Rubell Museum in Washington and Africa Supernova at Kunsthal KAde in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, both in 2023.

• Institutional solo exhibitions include Oracles of the Pink Universe, at The Denver Museum (2021), In some Form or Fashion: Simphiwe Ndzube at Museo Kaluz, Mexico City (2019) and Waiting for Mulungu at the CC Foundation, Shanghai (2018).

COLLECTIONS:

The artist is represented in numerous local and international collections, notably the Longlati Foundation, Shanghai; Fondation Gandur pour l'Art, Geneva; Musee d’art Contemporain de Lyon; France Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles; Pérez Art Museum, Miami; The CC Foundation, Shanghai; HOW Art Museum, Shanghai; Christen Sveeas Collection, Norway; The Denver Art Museum; Museo Kaluz, Mexico City; Rubell family collection, Miami; Rupert Museum, Cape Town; University of Cape Town; Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town; Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA), Cape Town and the A4 Foundation, Cape Town.