Churchill Madikida

Madikida is the Standard Bank Young Artist for Visual Art 2006…

There is nothing commonplace about 31-year-old Churchill Madikida, an artist whose professional biography requires some digression into his private life. Indeed, the soft-spoken manner and modest demeanour of the bespectacled young artist belie an immense biography…

In my art I try to focus more on histories, such as my history as an individual and as part of groups, such as my Xhosa ethnic identity, South African nationality, and of my global identity. In the past, I have been using different mediums such as drawing, painting, sculpture, and printmaking in trying to address my themes (recently I have also incorporated performance pieces)…

Coffins, Curtains, Candles

On entering Churchill Madikida’s exhibition Status I encountered three coffins. One of them contained an adult-sized figure made out of lights; another a child’s coffin, its lid barely ajar; a third, its lid shut, with a plaster cast face peering out through a glass window. The installation resembled a shrine. Burning candles, rose petals and red ribbons lay scattered across the floor. Two heavy curtains, of maroon-coloured velvet, enclosed the installation, further emphasising the solemn atmosphere…