Mashudu Nevhutalu (South Africa 1992-)
Scotch Game

oil on unstreched canvas

Artwork date: 2021
Signature details: signed and dated bottom right; inscribed with the artist's name, date, the title and medium on the reverse
Location: Johannesburg

(1)

101 x 151.5 cm unframed

Provenance:
Private collection, Johannesburg.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Mashudu Nevhutalu, born in Johannesburg in 1992, tries to work through questions surrounding shared memories and histories. Influenced by the graffiti and street murals that he came across during his upbringing, he would go on to pursue a career in Fine Art, being selected for the prestigious Sasol New Signatures Competition in 2014, and taking part in group shows and competitions such as the SA Taxi Foundation Art Award in both 2016 and 2017. Nevhutalu’s works evoke emotions through the combination of murky representations of old photographic material and colours reminiscent of the sepia-tones seen in old photographs.

Working through his family’s photographic archive, Nevhutalu tries to bring us closer to understanding that memories and histories are not fixed, and not simply in the past, but are shaped and continue to shape our present lives, in ways that can oftentimes seem unclear. The idea of a shared relation and connection can be seen in Scotch Game, where the artist was inspired by a “photo of my uncle and his friends… sitting around a chess board and having a drink. This was a tradition of theirs on weekends; to sit together, play chess and catch up with each other with whatever happened in their lives during the week”.[1] The story behind the artwork perhaps adds a nostalgic layer as it is one that can be shared by many viewers, in different contexts and can reincarnate itself as a tradition within the artist’s own daily life. The artist forgoes detail and realistic representations of facial features and colour, which seems to evoke murky impressions of the moment for the viewer. The images are merely interpretations of the original found photos and thus layered with the artist’s own interpretation through his own memories or experiences. Nevhutalu focuses on the small moments or objects that induce recollections and can be shared amongst many people who might not seem to have a relation or connection with each other.

Recently, Nevhutalu had his second solo exhibition, Hayani, at the esteemed BKhz gallery in Johannesburg, founded by artist Banele Khoza. The exhibition took place from the 9^th of December 2023 until the 23^rd of January this year. The presented works looked at the concept of home not belonging to a certain place but being formed rather by families and communities that surround you. The artist has also recently joined 125 artists from 33 African countries in an exhibition at Kunsthal KAdE in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. The exhibition, titled Africa Supernova (24 September 2023 to 7 January 2024), showcased the extraordinary artistic talent of painters within the continent by showcasing a selection of works that have been acquired by seasoned Dutch collectors Carla and Pieter Schulting (Schulting Art Collection).

^{[1] Mashudu Nevhutalu in conversation with Carina Jansen, email correspondence, 10 May 2024.}

The photo of the artist’s uncle and his friends used as an inspiration
for Scotch Game.

COLLECTIONS:

The artist is represented in numerous local and international collections, notably, the University of Cape Town; Art Bank of South Africa, Johannesburg and the Schulting Art Collection, Netherlands.