Vernacular images of childhood in the work of Lebohang Sithole

Abstract

This visual essay presents a critical analysis of paintings by the South African artist, Lebohang Sithole, and focuses on those paintings drawn from his memory of childhood and the past. The predominant theme, a young African child, is examined as vernacular imagery. He uses the motif of the African child to reflect on different, often painful, experiences he had growing up in rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Selected paintings were analysed for their formal content and contexts, and the discussion is framed by insights gained through interviews with the artist. The works powerfully evoke the hardships of children growing up in the impoverished rural areas in South Africa. It is argued that Sithole’s recurrent portrayal of black African children engages a discourse that contributes to global contemporaneity.