RMA Young Artists' Project 2025

Less concerned with a singular theme, Seeking offers a holistic view of Chithambo’s artistic journey in recent years. The exhibition brings together a collection of works unified by six recurring visual elements that have become central to his visual language: hands, wings, light shining through clouds, portraiture, figures, and the starry night. These motifs serve as symbols through which the artist articulates personal reflections and inner contemplations. While a range of sub-themes emerge, the common thread running through the work is storytelling.

Chithambo’s passion for narrative began in his early childhood years, from collecting Supa Strikas comic books to crafting handmade comics using crayons, Khoki pens, and staples. His formative years were steeped in imagination and a deep curiosity about the imaginary. As a result, allegory features prominently in his practice. Each painting can be read as a self-contained story, often grappling with questions of faith, identity, and the emotional complexities of the human experience.

The exhibition’s title piece, Seeking, also serves as the poster artwork and an introduction to the broader series. It brings together many of the signature symbols that define Chithambo’s visual vocabulary and sets the tone for what follows: a contemplative journey through self-developed “imaginaries.” As referenced by Ute Fendler in Animating the Future: Storytelling and Super Heroes in Africa (2022), the term “imaginary” refers to a constructed or imagined world a concept that resonates throughout the exhibition.

Three central works Adorned Gathering, Monarch, and Rivers of Vitiligo focus on the concept of the “inner world” and affirm the complexity and significance of every individual life. Chithambo draws inspiration from Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJV): “…Also He has put eternity in their [human beings’] hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” With this in mind, he invites viewers to consider each human being as a microcosm of unfathomable depth and mystery.

The painting Negative Thoughts addresses internal conflict and distorted self-perception. Through a symbolic use of color theory, the shift from blue to orange, a visual inversion on the color wheel, illustrates a negative emotional state. While the world behind the main subject (portrayed by Sivuyile Sitole and Tumakgole Tsele) appears vivid and full of life, the subject himself is rendered in grey tones, devoid of facial features. This striking contrast highlights the disconnect between how the subject views himself and the vibrancy of the world around him.

In the closing section of the exhibition, Chithambo previews new directions in his practice, using imagination as a tool to interrogate urgent social themes in contemporary South Africa, including migration, xenophobia, and belonging. As Ute Fendler suggests, local imaginaries can serve as models for creative solutions to local challenges. In this spirit, Chithambo’s work uses storytelling not only to reflect, but also to imagine new ways of understanding and engaging with the world.

The Gathering