Notes

"As a conceptual photographer, I make use of a practice that amalgamates self-portraiture and collage making. The work that I create is a melting pot of all the images, sounds and feelings that I have come across that I now use as reference points in my work. Concepts found in constructivism and cubism intrigue me. The basis for much of my work draws from movement, language, sound as well as the basic composition of one’s everyday life. Casting new light on the seemingly mundane and ordinary, I give the viewer unique access to a world reimagined. —Lunga Ntila, 2019

Lunga Ntila passed away tragically in August 2022. At only 27 years old and a mere 8 years since she purchased her first Nikon, her artistic production has been very limited, but enormously impactful. In an article written by Siphiwe Mpye for WANTED online in early September, Mpye wrote: “the duality of life hit home cruelly with the loss of another “Young and vital” listee. Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse, Moses Molelekwa, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and now, Lunga Ntila. Dead at 27. Only 27. The 27 club of mystery, myth, of conspiracy, and coincidence? But this is real life, there’s nothing speculative, mythical, romantic, or “pop-culture phenom” about this particular transition; the pain is bone deep for those who adored her, from various degrees of proximity. Ntila fixated on our inherent duality and used photography and collage to show the delicateness of our individual and collective distortion. Her gaze was shaped by a curiosity that the writer Mpumi Mayisa says “was like a malignant itch, the kind that touches one spot and sets the rest of the body on fire. This itch birthed an expansive body of work, experiments and captivating distortions of physical matter, space and time. ”

Lunga Ntila is an emerging fine art photographer whose work is marked by storytelling, identity, and deconstruction. She became interested in photography in 2014 when she purchased her first camera — a Nikon D5200. With this camera, she delved into self-portraiture early on as it was an easier way for her to practice the skill of photography. Ntila primarily uses digital collage and photography as a means of imparting perspective on existing stories. As an archivist, she connects the dots between her own images and the disparate story references. She accomplishes this through the utilization of simple but significant elements such as colour, texture, emotion, and various settings. The basis for much of her work draws from movement, language, and sound as well as the basic composition of one’s everyday life. Casting a new light on the seemingly mundane and ordinary, Ntila gives the viewer unique access to a world reimagined.

While her career is one of considerably rapid emergence, Ntila, has garnered the attention of formidable art bodies, both internationally and locally. She has been commissioned by numerous publications and digital entities including Bubblegum Club, for whom she captured contemporary artist Lady Skollie, as well as a Mahaneela collaborative project commissioned by It’s Nice That for Dropbox. In an extensive project facilitated by Miller Genuine Draft, Ntila was spotlighted as a Cultural Trendsetter. Ntila’s work was exhibited in 2018 at the Art Book Fair in Sao Paulo, Brazil as well as at the Keyes Art Mile Summer Exhibition. The same year, Between 10and5 named her one of four South African creatives to watch. In 2019, she participated at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair; was listed as a part of the Design Indaba’s emerging creatives class; had her first Solo exhibition titled Ukuzilanda at the Bkhz Gallery; and participated in the group shows Xposure, hosted by Bkhz at the Pretoria Art Museum and The Head, The Hand at Blank Project.

Biography courtesy of Africa First.

Provenance

BKhz By Banele Khoza, Johannesburg, 2019.

Africa First, 2023.

Exhibited

Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, X_POSURE, November to December 2019.