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Roots to Wings: An exhibition embodying the pilgrimage of those trials that constitute artistry
Past exhibition
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Mehlareng 6, 2023
Mixed Media on Basotho Blanket
51 x 51 x 3.5 cm
Copyright The Artist
Frans Thoka works with traditional Basotho blankets or prison blankets. The subject matter of his work is currently landscapes and specifically trees. This imagery is a reflection of his youth...
Frans Thoka works with traditional Basotho blankets or prison blankets. The subject matter of his work is currently landscapes and specifically trees. This imagery is a reflection of his youth when he used to help his grandmother work in the fields and listen to her stories while resting under the trees. His works are a response to the relationship South Africans have with the land and the pain that is often hidden due to the dispossession of so many people in this country. Frans feels that when a blanket is wrapped around something it can hide what is at the centre and thus that thing is not exposed and dealt with. His blankets are holding/hiding the emotions of many who had to come to terms with relocating and losing the land they were born on.