Black Owned Property VIII with hand drawn collage

Medium: Monoprint
Paper size: 57.5 x 76.5 cm
Image size: 50 x 69.5 cm
Edition size: 1/1

Tlabela’s recent work focuses on interiors and exteriors of luxurious Black-owned homes “Me aspiring to live those experiences is me asking ourselves as a collective to envision these realities so that we can attain them” , he continues  “The aspirations in my work are personal as well and reflect my reality as a property owner.”

These monoprints do not include human figures as Tlabela would like the viewer to imagine themselves within those spaces. “These scenes are luxurious and praise the newly imagined and real Black Elite. The idea is to challenge the now normalised image of the suffering and impoverished Black Body. I am disassociating myself from that narrative. It’s time for a new vision of ourselves. A vision that may currently be fictional, but ultimately aspirational and attainable.”