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ART SUITE

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HERE, THERE & FORWARD

Ntsako (Happiness)

Fumani Maluleke

born 1991

Artwork Details

Artist          Fumani Maluleke 
Title            Ntsako (Happiness)
Medium      Acrylic on Grass Mat (78 x 66cm)

About the Artist

Fumani Walter Maluleke (born 1991) is a South African contemporary artist born and raised in Thomo village, Limpopo. He trained at Artist Proof Studio in Johannesburg and completed a diploma in Art and Graphic Design at Tshwane North TVET College; he also taught art at secondary-school level.

About this Artwork

Ntsako (Happiness) reflects Maluleke's exploration of memory, place and personal experience through his distinctive practice of painting on woven grass mats. The work depicts a figure moving through an open landscape – evoking a sense of freedom in the land. The title, Ntsako, meaning ‘happiness’” in Xitsonga, suggests a moment of joy rooted in the experience of place and belonging. Rather than presenting the landscape as a passive backdrop, Maluleke portrays it as a living repository of memory, where personal histories, childhood experiences and cultural traditions remain embedded in the environment. Here, Maluleke continues to repurpose the woven mat as a painting surface. In doing so, he transforms a familiar domestic object into a carrier of personal memory. The visible weave remains present beneath the painted image, which emphasises the idea that memories are layered and accumulated over time.