Silindokuhle Shandu

Born in 1998, Johannesburg based artist Silindokuhle Shandu explores identity, womanhood, and human existence through photography, painting, and mixed media. Raised between Gingindlovu, Empangeni, and eMalahleni, her work reflects the contrasts of urban, suburban, and rural life, shaped by the lived experiences and resilience of the women around her. A 2024 ANNA Award Top 12 finalist and a 2026 Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize finalist, she holds a diploma in Fashion Design and Technology from Tshwane University of Technology. She is an alumna of the African Female Artist Mentorship Programme and participated in the 2025 Bodhi Khaya Residency.

“My practice examines identity, spirituality, and place through an engagement with photography, painting, and collage. Working with familial archives and candid street imagery, I construct layered compositions that situate personal memory within broader historical and contemporary contexts. By collapsing distinctions between private and public spheres, the work traces how identity is continuously formed through the interplay of memory, environment, and lived experience. These compositions function as sites where past and present converge in order to allow the evaluation of both. Informed by urban and rural landscapes, my practice considers the tension between tradition and modernity, with particular attention to how place shapes processes of belonging and transformation. Through this approach, I produce visual environments that engage memory as material often foregrounding transition and the ongoing construction of self.”