Nicholas Hlobo presents a major new sculptural installation in his Standard Bank Young Artist exhibition, ‘Umtshotsho’.  Hlobo draws strongly on his Xhosa heritage in his work, invoking the rich idioms of the Xhosa language and exploring how traditions evolve in changing times. Of equal interest to Hlobo is his own sexual identity, and his place as a gay man within Xhosa culture. Where his previous shows have looked at ideas surrounding birth and sex, in this exhibition Hlobo takes as his theme the rituals that accompany the transition from youth to adulthood.

The term 'umtshotsho' refers to a traditional party for young people. 'The focus is on that time when children are beginning to think and act like adults; the desire to explore life, dating, going out at night and all the consequences of wanting to do things older people do. Umtshotsho rarely takes place in its old form any more and young people have found alternatives such as going to bars and clubs. The works are not trying to tell a story about an old way of partying for teenagers but look at the new conventions and draw similarities between different times.'

02 July - 11 July