Biography

 Mnguni was born in Soweto, South Africa. Now located in Mulbarton South of Johannesburg. Gugu Mnguni finished her high school 2018 at Lux College where she matriculated and took visual artist as one of her subjects. Gugu graduated at Artist Proof studio 2021 where she did her first physical exhibition which was a group exhibition. She’s currently doing her senior grad fifth year programme being an assistant teacher and continues to learn more in other departments and still a full time artist .She has also done a number of printmaking demonstrations with many schools including Roedean Girls School and St Stithians girls College .Gugu has recently joined gallery team as she practices doing sales. Gugu specialises more in watercolour monotype, drypoint and linocut. 2020 Gugu was involved in climate change project, joined in Art In Action (AIA) 2021, ILRIG project 2022 as well as was part of Investec Cape Town Art Fair. Late 2022 Gugu got to be part of the female top 12 ANNA finalist award and later exhibited on ‘Reshape 22’. 2023 Gugu exhibited with TAF paper both online and physically then was again part of Cape Town Art Fair.

Artist Statement

In my work I aim to explore the relationship between my late father and myself. My father, a mechanic, and I were involved in a car accident in 2009, of which he passed away. This event has greatly influenced my art making, as well as how I view myself due to the fact that I had to undergo surgery to have orthopaedic implants placed in my legs to repair injuries from the car crash. These surgeries have left my legs scared and disfigured.

In my work and imagery, I make use of the body in a disfigured and distorted manner as a way to unpack my trauma as well as to capture the memory and reality of time. In doing so I make use of marks and scars on the body, specifically my body, as forms of mementos or stories of our past left on the skin and body. I make tribute to my father by using tools-like leg structures and flowers or plants that represent the friendly but contrastingly unfriendly world that took him away from me. I illustrate this through my chosen palette of yellow, brown, green as well as blue which symbolise and evokes a sense of nature. In addition, I make use of furniture to create a sense of home to pay respect to my father and as a cathartic process to remember him by. The flowers in my work and in the spaces I create, are symbolic of the connection I feel to my father.

The legs play a significant role in my work as they are the parts of my body that were most affected in the car accident. I disfigure and mutilate the legs by having them appear cut off or severed. I then try join them by using pink wire/metal implants and stitches, similar to my surgery. In doing so I start to visually narrate the traumatic event that has affected my life. In some of my work I add fishnet stockings worn by the legs in order to symbolise and explore my need to embrace insecurities of scaring and disfigurement of my legs. They act as a sort of window through which the viewer can observe my legs. In doing so I aim to emphasise and reclaim a sense of feminine beauty and amativeness, taken from me in the car accident.