"the more i dig into the well of knowledge the more difficult it is to embrace this reality with enthusiasm - the desecration of books in the form of closing them forever and opening particular pages forever, (thus turning them into art objects) is a personal ritual whereby, i'm saying: for me to know the truth and be set free by it i have to release the books from their predictable condition thus transforming them into another curiosity which still inspires thought.’"
—Thokozani Mthiyane
This interview was conducted over e-mail, three questions at a time.
AK: Firstly, congratulations on your show which is currently on at the Gerard Sekoto Gallery of the Alliance Francaise. Does the fact that you are exhibiting in the G Sekoto gallery mean anything to you? Has Sekoto's work in any way played a role in your artistic development?
TK: i'm convinced that there's a shadow of sekoto on most of us, the artists who've read and heard about him and the socio-political scape of this so-called sa country would make one who is intellectually curious envy or aspire to get out... i would say his influence is not visible but felt.
AK: How did the connection with the Alliance Francaise come about? What is your particular take on French culture?
TK: french as a culture is not particularly inspiring for me, the elements of it, language, the urban visual aspect, literature particularly the novel and poetry that intoxicate my pain into meaning zola, flaubert, prevert rimbaud, baudelaire, verlaine, eluard have somehow saved a certain aspect of ma sanity and to honour them i'm randomly translating their writing to zulu, those shades of the french culture are fascinating for me... politics and religion are not even worth discussing for the content of our interaction.
AK: Is your exhibition securely grounded in the context of a "fine arts" discourse? How do "literature" and "fine art" overlap, or fuse, in your work?
TK: no no i'm on the depth of the edge, ma art is a mere activity to save maself from falling into the abyss. i sigh sometimes when i realise the meaninglessness of existence, save that one can create and write to keep on the dance floor we call life - art for me has nothing to do with being fine, but a means to meaning.
