Young and vital artist: Lebogang Mogul Mabusela

This month, Wanted dives into the lives, practice and ideology of  some of the most exciting young artists living or working in South Africa today.

Lebogang Mogul Mabusela was born in Mabopane in 1996 and is currently based in Johannesburg. Her practice is concerned with “the reality of navigating within misogynoir,” which is explored through prints, drawings and sculpture. Mubesela describes herself as a “zinequeen” and “monotypebabe”, and the latter is the name of her printmaking curatorial scheme dubbed the Monotypebabe Curatorial.

Her multi-disciplinary practice subverts gender norms and the problematic status quo by using vernacular and humour to extract deep topics and themes. She was awarded the Standard Bank Fine Arts Prize after graduating from the Wits School of Fine Art in 2019. She was also in the 50 Emerging Creatives class of Design Indaba 2020, and a runner-up recipient of the Young Womxn Studio Bursary sponsored by Sam Nhlengethwa and the Bag Factory Artists’ Studios.

How does your work explore and subvert the status quo?

My work, the Johannesburg Words series, uses portraiture to confront and centre the male. This way of working subverts the male gaze [and] also puts them as muses in art while calling them out.

How has your artistic practice developed over time?

Throughout my work I have mostly explored themes relating to feminism, black womanhood and critiquing gender norms, and I have explored these using [various] methodologies and practices. From working with doilies and lace, using monotype to now drawing and still doing monotypes but looking [at] portraits and figurative work.