James Mokhasi: Blurring Figuration and Abstraction in Johannesburg
Born in Johannesburg in 1986, James Mokhasi specializes in digital and mixed media art, merging abstraction with hidden figures. His creations investigate the clarity and obscurity of human forms, with faces and bodies surfacing through lines and distortions. Influenced by artists such as Francis Bacon, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Jackie Mulder, Dumile Feni, and George Rouy, Mokhasi challenges the conventional stability of portraiture by distorting and combining images. His artistic process starts intuitively with a gesture or face, utilizing photography and digital drawing, followed by iterative drawing and disruption. He believes that destruction is essential to creation and views no artwork as final. His conceptual focus spans literature, theology, and psychology, emphasizing movement and various states.
Key facts
- James Mokhasi was born in Johannesburg in 1986 and remains based there.
- He works across digital and mixed media processes, moving between abstraction and partially concealed figuration.
- His influences include Francis Bacon, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Jackie Mulder, Dumile Feni and George Rouy.
- His process involves compositing, redrawing and distorting images through successive layers.
- He deliberately damages or partially removes resolved compositions as part of his method.
- He does not identify one piece as his definitive or most meaningful artwork.
- His conceptual interests include literature, theology, mythology, philosophy and psychology.
- He hopes to expand his investigations into a larger exhibition and increase the physical intensity of the work.
Entities
Artists
- James Mokhasi
- Francis Bacon
- Ibrahim El-Salahi
- Jackie Mulder
- Dumile Feni
- George Rouy
- Dante
Institutions
- AATONAU
Locations
- Johannesburg
- South Africa
Sources
- AATONAU —