A friendship between two photography students at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) has grown into an artistic collaboration shaped by years of individual exploration, growth and creative exchange.
Thalente Khomo and Thembi Mthembu recently launched an exhibition titled "Women in Art" at the Stepping Stone Studio in Hillcrest.
The exhibition, which runs until September 6, brings together photography and the mediums they have each embraced as their practices have evolved.
Conversations between mediums
While the camera remains an important foundation for both artists, their work has moved beyond photography alone, opening up conversations between photography, painting and printmaking.
The exhibition is, in many ways, a reflection of who they are as artists today, not simply where they began.
“These works were selected because they reflect our artistic journeys and the ways our practices have developed since we first met as photography students. They represent where we are now as artists, rather than where we began,” said Khomo.
At the heart of "Women in Art" is an exploration of womanhood and the experiences that shape women’s identities, memories and stories.
For the artists, presenting the exhibition during Women’s Month adds another layer of meaning to the collaboration, as it allowed them to reflect on their experiences as women and artists while celebrating the different ways women tell and preserve their stories.
The title, "Women in Art", speaks directly to their presence as women within the art world, but extends beyond representation. It acknowledges women as creators, storytellers and subjects, while recognising the different paths that have shaped their artistic practices.
Although Mthembu and Khomo work across different mediums and approaches, their practices intersect through a shared interest in women's stories, identity, memory and lived experience.
"My practice focuses on the politics surrounding the body, especially the ways in which the body can become a site of identity, experience and resistance. My work is rooted in self-portraiture, and she uses photography and painting to explore and express these ideas," said Mthembu.
"My practice uses photography and cyanotype to explore ideas of belonging, memory and ancestral memory. I am interested in how personal and collective histories are carried across generations, and how photography can become a way of reconnecting with those histories.
"Although our practices differ in medium and approach, there is a strong connection between our work. Both of us are interested in women's stories, identity, memory and the experiences that shape the way we understand ourselves and the world around us," said Khomo.
In conversation
Together, their work creates a dialogue between the personal and collective; between the body and memory, the present and the past.
The artists first met in 2015 while studying photography at DUT. Their friendship and creative relationship grew from their shared experiences as students, and over the years they continued to witness and support one another’s artistic development.
Their first exhibition together, Ukuba, took place in 2019. At the time, both artists were still navigating their identities and developing their practices as young photographers.
"Coming together again years later feels like a continuation of that journey. We have grown and evolved individually and collectively," said the duo.
"Women in Art" therefore becomes more than a second exhibition. It is a visual record of that evolution — a meeting point between two artists who began in the same place but have since forged distinct creative paths.
According to the artists, the response to the exhibition has been overwhelmingly positive, with audiences connecting deeply with the work.
"It has been amazing, humbling and, at times, overwhelming to see how people have connected with the work. We have received support from both art institutions and the wider community, which has been particularly meaningful to us. We have also had a strong response from photography students at DUT, which feels especially significant given that DUT is where our journey together began.
"For us, the feedback has reinforced the importance of creating spaces where women can share their stories and where different artistic practices can exist in conversation with one another," they said.
The reception has also reinforced their belief in the importance of creating spaces where women can share their stories and where different artistic practices can exist alongside and in conversation with one another.
Greg Hayes, owner of Stepping Stone Studios, said when he had seen Khomo's work he suggested she have an exhibition gallery.
"Her work is amazing. Just before the show she asked if she could do the show with Thembi. They are both very talented in their own rights. I decided I wanted to have a show because I want to highlight the young talent that is coming through that people in the upper highway are not exposed to.
"We have had a favourable response. We have some one or two and have a few pending sales," said Hayes.
Ultimately, "Women in Art" is a celebration of presence, of women occupying creative spaces, of artistic growth and of the stories that emerge when individual journeys meet.
From the lens to the canvas and the cyanotype, Khomo and Mthembu demonstrate that photography can be a starting point rather than a boundary, allowing their practices to expand into new forms while remaining rooted in questions of identity, memory, womanhood and belonging.
taschica.pillay@nationalmg.co.za