Identity demands, 2020
Sthenjwa Luthuli (1991) is a South African artist working primarily in carved wooden reliefs and woodcut prints. In his work Luthuli celebrates his Zulu heritage and spiritual self while referencing the ongoing struggles that face racialized gruops in post-apartheid south Africa. His compositions feature figures contorted against brightly hued, patterned backgrounds,These headless, apparently floating characters appear either unwillingly adrift - the victims of subpar social infrastructures - or else ascending to something greater. Luthuli has said his figures occupy "unknown space" - his term for an abstract territory between the spiritual and physical worlds that the artist accesses to connect with himself and his ancestors. The available signed limited edition woodcut print Identity Demands is an example of such work. Luthuli has exhibited internationally and his work is also part of international collections.