Artwork Details
The desire to become one series, 2025
Digital photography on true ivory
Artist Biography
Thomas Masingi is a South African visual artist, curator, writer and poet, who was born and raised in Mokopane, Limpopo Province. He currently lives, studies and works in Pretoria. He is pursuing his Master of Visual Arts degree at the University of South Africa. Masingi creates art in a range of media including but not limited to mixed-media drawing, printmaking, photography, performance and video art, and other forms of digital art.
His work explores a range of themes surrounding masculinity, blackness and mental health, with themes such as fragility, vulnerability, toxicity, the concept of the self and the shadow self, depression and anxiety, post- traumatic stress disorder. He has exhibited at numerous galleries around Pretoria and Johannesburg. Furthermore, Masingi is a young curator who has curated several exhibitions around Pretoria, currently curating “Monna ke Nku… (Chapter 2) ”- Group Exhibition at Polokwane Art Museum.
Q&A
Tell us what your reaction was when you received the news that your work had been selected as one of the final 7 in the Sasol New Signatures Visual Arts Competition 2026?
I will not lie to you; I could not believe it. I have been feeling very good about my work lately because of the consistency in terms of my work ethic and I have witnessed a lot of growth in terms of my technical skills and conceptual development, however this came as a surprise. I felt like my eyes were about to pop out of their sockets in disbelief!
Is this your first time entering Sasol New Signatures? If so, what prompted you to enter? If not, how many times have you entered, and what keeps bringing you back to the competition?
This is my fourth time entering (2019, 2023, 2025 and 2026). To be honest, after my work was not selected last year, I felt aggrieved a bit because I felt that my work was very strong. This year, I was uncertain about entering the competition, however Mr. Amos Letsoalo from Polokwane Art Museum encouraged me to enter, stating that he felt that my body of work was compelling and that I was touching very important issues that are rarely spoken about. My partner also supported the suggestion to enter. She has played a major role in my artistic growth.
As South Africa’s longest running art competition, what does being part of this competition mean to you at this stage of your artistic journey?
I believe that this has been a revelation for me, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. It is quite important for me as a practising artist, young academic and curator. I have been saying to the people close to me that this has been my best year yet, in terms of the abovementioned spheres of my life. Things have just been getting better for me. I think this will play a huge role in my growth and development.
Tell us a little about your artistic journey to date.
My artistic journey has been a difficult one. There has been an ebb and flow about it. I have always been a very expressive person, since a child, drawing on walls with markers and wax crayons, which got me in a lot of trouble with my parents! Although, it was difficult for my mother to have to look at my drawings on the walls, she ultimately let me be. I kept drawing, throughout my high school years (2003 t0 2008). In this period I started writing raps and poetry. Between 2009 and 2015, I did not do a lot of drawing as I was too consumed by the desire to improve as writer and poet. In 2016, I got an opportunity to study Visual Arts at Unisa through a National Arts Council Bursary, and this completely changed my life. I had recently completed an Honours degree at the University of Limpopo. I was nervous about the prospect of starting a new degree, but I relished the opportunity. What my time at Unisa taught me is that I need to constantly keep evolving. My lecturers were amazing in that they believed in me even when I did not know what I was doing and they kept challenging me to keep improving. As practising artist, I began exhibiting in 2019. I participated in three shows that year, at Johan van Heerden’s Art Gallery, Trent Gallery and Julie Miller Investment Art Institute. From the beginning of 2020 to the end of 2021, I was not creating any art as I battling with depression. I also had to put my studies on hold. Although it was a challenging period, I found solace from the fact that my family (mother, brother and daughter) refused to give up on me. In 2022, I went back to Unisa to complete my Bachelor of Visual Arts degree and the following year, I started exhibiting again. In previous years I would exhibit printmaking work but recently started exhibiting photography work. The years 2025 and 2026 have been my busiest, both as an artist and curator. I have participated in a total of 7 exhibitions (including the upcoming Sasol New Signatures). Of the 7, I curated 3 of them. I also assisted to curate a few exhibitions at the Viewing Room Art Gallery.
Who or what has had the greatest influence on you as an artist, and how has that influence shaped your work?
I cannot single out specific person or thing. I think Dr. Paul Cooper, Mr. Justice Mokoena, Prof. Gwen Miller, Mr. Arthur Kgokong, my mother and Michaeline Maepa, anime, hip-hop culture and my psychology background have all contributed to how I approach my artmaking in a sense that they encouraged me to be as expressive as possible. Through my interactions with them, I have learnt to also put myself out there, unapologetically.
Tell us about the work you submitted. What inspired the piece, and what would you like viewers to understand or take away from it?
My work is always a reflection of the current state of my mind at the time of creation. I treat the artmaking process as a therapy session. When I created this work, I had reached a point in my healing journey where I had to have honest conversations with myself about what I could do improve the way I handle hardships. I realised that part of the problem was that I kept trying to always shun the shadow self instead of embracing it. I had to come to terms with the fact that I had shortcomings, and that it is rather important to confront and process them so that I can work on self-improvement. My psychology background, coupled with an anime series called Mob Psycho 100 (specifically, season 3: episode 10), played a huge role in the conceptualisation of the work. In Mob Psycho 100, the protagonist spent a large portion of his life supressing his shadow self, which ended up becoming destructive when the shadow took over his personality. This would not have been the case had he embraced his shadow. I would like the viewer to understand that it is important for one to embrace the shadow aspects of their personality, to constantly do some introspection or self-reflection as this is necessary for growth and evolution.
Tell us about your preferred medium or materials.
I work across a variety of media including mixed media drawing, video art, printmaking, photography, collage and spoken word. However, I have been experimenting a lot with black and white photography, as I realised that it is underrated medium. My love for black and white photography has grown over the past year as I appreciate the quietness of it. I prefer black and white over colour because I believe that the former allows the viewer to add the colours that resonate with them at different stages of their growth or evolution. A viewer may either add warm or cold/cool colours depending on their mood. I believe it makes the work more open ended. Photography is an underrated medium, especially in Pretoria and I have been working hard to change the narrative.
Can you take us behind the creative process of the work you submitted? Was there anything unexpected, challenging or exciting that emerged while making it?
The creative process always begins with writing. I would sometimes start with writing a poem or just some journaling. I wrote a poem called “Shadow” first, then expanded to some journalling and finally, I did a write up for it in terms character development. Having conversations with the model (Matome Masipa), whom I have been working with for very long time, was an integral part of the process. We have gone through similar experiences, and it made it easier for him to embody the character. The next phases were doing some compositional sketches and identifying a suitable location/setting. The process involved taking more than 1200 photos. Taking a lot of photos allowed me to experiment with different settings, which produced very interesting results. What was exciting was finding out how both the model and photographer can be performative in the creation of the work. I was amazed when I saw the photographs in camera as this was my first time exploring motion blur photography. The editing process was very exciting as I saw the images in black and white and I knew then that I had found what I had been searching for.
Which South African artists do you admire and why?
This is an extremely difficult one for me as I like different artists for different reasons. Vusi Beauchamp is one of them, I just love how expressive his mark-making is and his whole story is a source of inspiration for me. He is also a wonderful person to engage with. I also like an artist named Kgafela Loate, besides the fact that I work with him closely, I just admire the raw talent and work ethic that he brings to the table. Cow Mash is also another artist I admire. The dynamism in her work is quite incredible. Lastly, I love Jan van der Merwe’s work. His choice of material is fascinating to me.
Being selected as a finalist can be an important stepping stone for an emerging artist. What are your hopes and ambitions for your practice beyond the competition.
Being a finalist is already a big deal. The prospect of being featured in the catalogue made me feel great. Beyond the competition, I would like my work to reach various parts of the world. The reason is that I create art, not just for it to look pretty, I do this because I believe my stories are meant to be shared. I hope my art will add value and meaning to other people’s lives. I want to grow as both an artist and curator, to work and collaborate with as many artists as possible.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years and 10 years?
The next 5 to 10 years look exciting for me. I see myself continuing with the current momentum. I have an ongoing curatorial project called “Monna ke Nku…” Group Exhibition, which I started last year, at the Viewing Room Art Gallery. It is in its second chapter 2, which is currently showing at Polokwane Art Museum. This is a travelling and evolving exhibition that encourages men and artists to open up on the issues they go through without feeling the need to censor themselves. So, in the next 5 to 10 years, I hope to have it reach wider platforms outside of the country. I see myself creating new platforms for other young artists to establish themselves. Artist Kgafela Loate and I have started a curatorial consultancy called Tshwane Contemporary Art Consultancy through which we hope to create create opportunities for young artists, including student artists to experience having their work in galleries. I also would like to be able to find institutions to work with in terms of funding the dreams of the youth from my hometown, who would like pursue careers within the arts. I think I will be a very important art practitioner due to my work ethic and strength in terms of my conceptual development. I see myself participating in many international exhibitions, including but not limited to biennial exhibitions. I believe that my working will be included in the curricula of prestigious institutions (both locally and internationally).
Any final comments?
I would like to thank Sasol New Signatures for the platform. It is an opportunity for us artists. I would also like to congratulate all the 2026 finalists and I wish them the best for the future.
