Lebohang Kganye

South African artist Lebohang Kganye works across sculpture, installation, performance and film, with a particular interest in photography. Lebohang uses her art to explore fictional history and her own imagined past. By merging real elements with themes of fantasy, Lebohang uses her photomontage and print technique to insert the familiar into the unknown, and in doing so she weaves her own history. Characterised by a black and white digital style, Lebohang’s layering of images pushes the boundaries of memories, nostalgia and history.

Lebohang Kganye’s Inspiration

Lebohang’s process is driven by personal and historical events that have shaped her own life. So much of Lebohang’s work focuses on the loss of her mother, and she uses her work to reintroduce her mother into her own narrative and vice versa. Marrying the two memories, Lebohang produces surrealist works, with an element of portraiture about them. The rich contrast of the monochrome tones in Lebohang’s work makes for powerful and intimate narratives.

Career and Success

Born in 1990, Lebohang currently lives and works in Johannesburg. For the last ten years, she has shown in group and solo shows throughout the world. She has recently participated in exhibitions including Give Me Yesterday at The Prada Foundation in Milan, Africa No Island at MACAAL in Marrakesh and Alpha Crucis- Contemporary African Art at Astrup Fearnley Museet in Oslo. Lebohang’s work has earned her a host of awards, and in the last year she has been recognised by the Camera Austria Award and the Rolex Mentor & Protege Arts Initiative, both in 2019.