Mary Sibande

Mary Sibande (b. 1982) is a contemporary South African artist working across a variety of mediums, from sculpture to  photography and printmaking. Her work primarily explores how to reclaim the black female body in post-colonial and post-apartheid South Africa. Her work often portrays the artist’s alter-ego “Sophie”, a dreamer exploring worlds previously denied to her. Sophie is based upon Sibande herself, as well as the women in Sibande’s family, however, she is also a symbolic figure addressing many topics that remain relevant today, including blackness, femininity, labour and post-coloniality.

 

Mary Sibande (1982) is a South African visual artist working across a variety of mediums, including sculpture, photography and printmaking. Her work primarily explores how to reclaim the black female body in post-colonial and post-apartheid South Africa. Her work often portrays the artist's alter-ego “Sophie”, a dreamer exploring worlds previously denied to her. She is many things, a domestic worker, a ruler, a general, a pope and more. Sophie is based upon Sibande herself, as well as the women in Sibande’s family, however, she is also a symbolic figure addressing many topics that remain relevant today, including blackness, femininity, labour and post-coloniality.    Sibande is co-founder of Occupying the Gallery, a project that aims to transform gallery spaces into makeshift open studios for mentorship and artistic development. In late 2023, David Krut Workshop (DKW) was approached by Mary Sibande to collaborate as part of her Occupy the Gallery mentorship programme. The aim of the programme was to introduce a number of different artists from different backgrounds to the world of printmaking. As a collective the artists would occupy a space, create work in that space and then showcase the work, moving through the different aspects of print and workshops as they go. At David Krut Workshop, Sbongiseni Khulu took on the role of collaborator with Mary Sibande, Hoek Swaratlhe and Lusanda Ndita. This collaboration has now produced three woodblock prints of Sophie during her time of leisure. The first, Leisurely Reading: Sophie with her newspaper debuted in a group show, ‘Reclaiming Quarters’, alongside the work of her mentees Swaratlhe and Ndita. In 2025 she produced three further woodblock prints in collaboration with Sbongiseni Khulu focused on Sophie in her time of leisure,  Leisurely Sailing: Sophie with her binoculars, Behind the Fan, Among the Barberton Daisies I and Behind the Fan, Among the Barberton Daisies II, before switching, in 2026, to a new collection of monotype prints featured in the 'Through the Peephole' series which debuted at the inaugural Conductor Art Fair in May of the year, this time collaborating with Roxy Kaczmarek.   Sibande’s works are included in major collections internationally, including the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC; Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, Virginia; Norton Museum of Art, Palm Beach; UMMA (University of Michigan Museum of Art), Ann Arbor; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; Zeitz MOCCA, Cape Town; Musée d’Art Contemporain du Val-de-Marne; Iziko South African Museums, Cape Town, and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

News

A View Through the Peephole | Mary Sibande
Jun. 17, 2026

Mary Sibande’s new series titled “A View Through the Peephole” marks a shift toward a new softness: an imagined space...

Tags: David Krut Print Workshop, David Krut Projects, David Krut Projects Arts on Main, David Krut Projects Johannesburg, David Krut Workshop, Exhibition, Monotype, Printmaking
Sophie’s Return: Mary Sibande’s New Woodblock Series Reimagines Leisure as Liberation 
Nov. 24, 2025

Written by: Lungile Ngcobo Collaborative printer: Sbongiseni Khulu   Mary Sibande signing the "Leisurely Sailing: Sophie with her binoculars" print Sbongiseni and...

Tags: Arts on Main, David Krut Print Workshop, David Krut Projects, David Krut Projects Johannesburg, Printmaking, Woodcuts
Mary Sibande’s “Leisurely” Series
Nov. 21, 2025

Mary Sibande’s Leisurely Series, of which the third print has just been completed at David Krut Workshop, consists of portraits...
Intern blog: ‘The underpainting of David Krut Projects’
Jul. 29, 2025

by Merice SwartSpending a week immersed in the inner workings of an art gallery is like peeling back the layers...

Tags: Arts on Main, David Krut Print Workshop, David Krut Projects, David Krut Projects Arts on Main, David Krut Projects Johannesburg, David Krut Workshop, Printmaking
WORKSHOP HAPPENINGS: July Visits at the David Krut Workshop 
Jul. 28, 2025

Written by: Lungile NgcoboJuly has been an eventful month at our Workshop in Maboneng, Johannesburg, marked by dynamic studio visits...

Tags: Arts on Main, David Krut Print Workshop, David Krut Projects Johannesburg, David Krut Workshop, Monotype, Printmaking, students, UJ, UJ Art Gallery, UNISA FINE ART STUDENTS, workshop happenings
My internship at David Krut Projects: Learning through observation, conversation and practice
Jul. 20, 2025

By Juané SwartHi there! I'm Juané Swart, a final-year Fine Arts student at Stellenbosch University. For the past two weeks,...

Tags: Arts on Main, David Krut Print Workshop, David Krut Projects, David Krut Workshop, Printmaking
David Krut Projects at the Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair
Mar. 28, 2025

Established in the West Chelsea Building in 2001, David Krut Projects Artspace, New York continues to connect the David Krut...

Tags: Arts on Main, David Krut Print Workshop, David Krut Projects, David Krut Projects New York, Exhibition
Mary Sibande: Images of Leisure
Sep. 25, 2024

In late 2023, Mary Sibande approached the David Krut Workshop (DKW) with an exciting opportunity to collaborate as part of...

Tags: Arts on Main, David Krut Print Workshop, David Krut Projects, David Krut Projects Johannesburg, David Krut Workshop, Mary Sibande, Printmaking, Woodblock

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