Collection: Sizwe Khoza

My work started as a comparison between a game of chess and my own experience of life. In a game of chess the King needs to be protected by all the other pieces. The other pieces and their meaning are sometimes overlooked. Each piece moves in its very unique and special way. A King can only move one block at a time and the Queen moves as many blocks as needed. The pawns are often sacrificed. I have always felt that we are protecting a useless piece.
I later introduced other pieces including the ‘Castle’, ‘Bishops’ and ‘Knights’ - the pieces that play a protective role in the game. These became metaphors for the many people that have played a protective role in my life and the life of others.
I focus on portraits to tell the story from the eyes and other facial features that form interesting expressions. I use monotypes (once off) as a way to express the fact that life never repeats itself, actions and moves may be repeated but the outcomes are never the same. This is true of the game of chess too.
In my more recent work, I have been looking at youth and children in particular. I’m always intrigued by how kids live life. They seem to enjoy each moment without worry about tomorrow and live with joy and wonder for all the things around them, with so much to explore. My work tries to capture what I see and hope for the future.