Samkelo Matomela

Born in 1996 in KwaZulu Natal and came to Soweto where my love for art grew even more. I
then went to Artist Proof Studio in Johannesburg to train as a print maker and improve my
artistic skills. Painting and drawing are my main mediums of interest.
My art is inspired by the internal and external experience I had and currently experiencing in my
life and the people around me, with that it has also inspired my art to change. These portraits
and figures are a dialogue with the people around me, I explore the world as a man trying to
navigate life and dealing with emotions. I apply thick layers of paint and use impasto as a
technique to achieve the feeling I’m trying to relay.
The butterfly in my work represents hope and change that resides within us. One encounters a
butterfly as a motif through my work as a symbol which recognises, change and conquers
circumstance. In my work how hood can serve as an antidote, a symbol and instrument that
people can turn to in whichever circumstance they find themselves in.
I don’t give facial definition in some paintings, that is to give space for imagination from the
viewer, to see themselves in a painting, to interact with a painting on a deeper level. Mostly
focused on portraiture or semi-nude figures as I believe that is our most intimate state