Post-Residency Works: Honouring the Question

Following her time at the Makwande Art Residency in France, Nthabiseng Boledi Kekana returned to South Africa carrying both inspiration and inner inquiry. While revisiting photographs from her time abroad, a single, loaded question surfaced:
"Can the art be separated from the artist?"

This question took on particular weight when reflecting on Pablo Picasso — a towering figure in Western art history, whose creative brilliance remains undeniable, even as his personal legacy invites ethical scrutiny. Rather than seek a fixed answer, Nthabiseng chose to engage with the complexity through creation.

In response, she produced two deeply considered works that pay tribute not only to Picasso’s influence, but to the emotional and conceptual tensions embedded in such reflections. One of these works, “Toro (Dream),” reimagines Picasso’s iconic painting Le Rêve, reframed through Nthabiseng’s own visual language and grounded in her evolving landscaping approach.

These works are not mere homages. They are translations — of form, of thought, and of a residency experience that continues to echo through texture, gesture, and introspection.