A solo photography exhibition by Sinenkosi Msomi – View the exhibition online at Flickr or saleable artwork at Artsy (link coming soon).
A thought provoking and beautiful photography exhibition opens at Yebo Contemporary Art Gallery this Saturday. The curator and Director, Aleta Armstrong said, “We are looking forward to this forthcoming exhibition by the talented photographer, Sinenkosi Msomi who is represented by Yebo Gallery. All of us are affected by mental health challenges in different ways during our life, and many of us are having a hard time during this pandemic, art is a great way of bringing these feelings out in the open for us to feel and discuss.”
Sinenkosi Msomi explained his concept for this exhibition, “I chose to explore the topic of mental health because I had noted that us youth are suffering too silently, and it is time we talk openly. It upsets me that this generation masks mental health issues by smiling and pretending everything is okay. I wanted to encourage people to open up and seek help, so that they defeat mental health illnesses. I wanted to use hope as a foundation or root that would keep people strong and more optimistic about the future.”
Psychologist Dr Pernille Hansen viewed the work with Sinenkosi and added her thoughts, “In his exhibition, “Not all that glitters is gold”, Sinenkosi Msomi invites us to share the impact of some of his childhood memories and join him in a journey of reflection and healing, as he works through difficult life experiences using photography. Sinenkosi was born in Mbabane but spent most of his childhood in the Lobamba region living with his extended family. He grew up with his mother and grandmother, and only saw his father a few times, which made his father’s death in 2017 particularly painful for Sinenkosi, as he wished he could have spent more time with his father. Sinenkosi uses photography to help express pain and joy and suffering and healing. The two photographs ‘I remember home (parts 1 and 2)’ are a celebration of the beauty, warmth and safety he remembers growing up in the family homestead, whilst ‘I no longer smile more’ and ‘Submerging inner conflicts’ are powerful expressions of the challenges and pain Sinenkosi felt when he entered the ‘dark space’ following the loss of his father. I cry better when I am alone, a breath-taking photograph of a man crying, shows the struggle Sinenkosi and so many other men face in Eswatini, of trying to mask and hide sadness because of societal and cultural pressure for men to be ‘strong’.
The expressions of trials and struggles in this series are so well balanced with beautifully captured images of hope and healing. As Sinenkosi worked through the pain of losing his father, he found a way to focus on strength and support through his work, dedicating the two pieces Thembelani (parts 1 and 2) to his father, which emphasize the power of hope. It is clear Sinenkosi finds both refuge and comfort in nature, as his photographs combine human emotion with nature’s raw power and strength in trees, rivers and the beautiful landscapes of Eswatini. Sinenkosi’s photographs are bold and unapologetically encourage and invite others to express feelings and emotions, especially the difficult ones. He shows how photography can be used to heal and bring joy.”