Two members of Occupy the Gallery, Lungile Ngcobo (David Krut Workshop Administrator) and Hoek Swaratlhe sit down to discuss Swaratlhe’s work created in with collaborative printer Sbongiseni Khulu at DKW. Keep an eye out for more information about the exhibition Reclaiming Quarters.
Hoek Swaratlhe is a South African born photographer who was introduced to the medium in 2008. As a young boy from Soweto he never imagined he would have a career in photography, however in 2013 he met photographer, Johann Barnard who took him under his wing, mentored him and hired him as an assistant in his team. Swaratlhe’s photographic interest centres around his community, it’s people and urban culture which he successfully executes through his unique street and studio photographs. Francois Booyens was a pinnacle factor in introducing Swaratlhe to studio photography and cementing his interest with commercial imagery. He still works closely with his communities on different projects as well as other leading industry professionals such as Booyens, Johann Barnard, Neo Ntsoma , Andile Bhala , Lawrence Lemaoana and many others.
At the request of Mary Sibande who was working on a collaborative initiative for a group of young Joburg artists that she had taken on a mentoring role, we accepted Lusanda Ndita and Hoek Swaratlhe to come into the David Krut Workshop (DKW) at Arts On Main. Our printer Sbongiseni Khulu took over the mentoring process with these artists in gaining an understanding of the collaborative activities which are practiced at DKW.
In February and March 2024, Swaratlhe came in to start working with Sbongiseni. He came in for concentrated mentoring sessions to learn about working on paper and the various mediums of printmaking. Sbongiseni took him through new mediums in the combination of monotype and pronto lithography, which they had gained insights from other workshops where they had been working.
