For Johannesburg-based visual artist and fashion designer Lunga ‘Lungwini’ Ndlovu, art is a way of questioning identity, confronting mortality and giving new life to stories that might otherwise be forgotten. Working primarily through painting while also exploring fashion, modelling and creative direction, Lungwini’s practice is rooted in the human experience and the different ways we leave our mark on the world.
A central theme within the work is death. Lungwini describes his paintings as an attempt to “bring the dead back to life”, an idea that grew from his own fear of mortality and a changing understanding of death through African spirituality.
“I was personally terrified by the concept,” he explains. “This gradually changed through the beliefs of African spirituality and how the dead still affect our lives.”
That perspective also led him to consider the people whose contributions continue to shape the world long after they are gone. Artists and innovators such as Vincent van Gogh become part of this conversation, reminding us that recognition does not always arrive within a person’s lifetime.
For Lungwini, the work is ultimately about making sure those contributions are remembered. He hopes viewers consider the possibility that their own efforts may have an impact beyond what they can currently see.“You may think your efforts are futile, but you do not really know who is watching or how impactful your efforts are,” he says.
Johannesburg has become another important influence. Once a city he associated mainly with childhood trips to Gold Reef City and the warnings surrounding its reputation, Lungwini now sees it differently through his experience as an artist and designer. The everyday determination of people working towards better lives and chasing their ambitions has become something he identifies with deeply.
“Joburg became the gateway to the world for me,” he says. “For that reason, I am proudly a Joburg export.”
His creative practice extends naturally into fashion, where Lungwini sees clothing and art as two disciplines that continually inform one another. While fashion must consider the consumer and function, art allows for a more personal form of expression. One provides colour and imagery for the other, while fashion gives his artistic ideas another physical language.
That relationship is about to take another form through ODD Society, an independent fashion brand Lungwini has been developing since high school. Inspired by rave, skating and punk culture, the brand is designed as a space for alternative and rebellious identities.
“I never could fit perfectly into existing molds,” he says, making individuality central to the brand’s philosophy.
For Lungwini, there is no need to choose between being an artist, designer or model. Each discipline circles back to the same idea: identity. As a model, he becomes a canvas for textiles; as an artist, he uses imagery and storytelling; through fashion, those ideas become something people can wear and inhabit.
Looking ahead, Lungwini refuses to place a limit on where that creative journey can take him. Inspired by black creative figures including Kanye West and Jean-Michel Basquiat, he remains interested in the unknown and the possibilities that come with moving between disciplines. More than anything, he hopes his work creates visibility for the next generation.
“I would just like for the next Black child or child of colour to see themselves in the world and value the power of storytelling through the arts.”