Visual artist Zwelethu Machepha is set to present his debut solo exhibition that attempts to address the yields of ancestral connection and the juxtaposition of a severed link between a group of people and their heritage.  The show is titled “Lefa La Bontatarona” translates to “Our inheritance” opens on April 15th at Mitochondria gallery, located in Houston, Texas.

 Zwelethu was born in the twilight of South Africa’s Apartheid regime. He was raised in the township of Soweto, a township created in the 1930’s by South Africa’s government with the intention of segregating Black South Africans. Growing up in Soweto, Zwelethu was surrounded by innovation, improvisation, and a history of resistance. These elements influenced his artistic practice to be experimental and to lend his voice to current affairs.

In “Lefa La Bontatarona,” Zwelethu is reaching for vigor from the distant past of his cultural heritage, where he attempts to connect with ancestral roots. In creating this body of work, Zwelethu travels though the path of reestablishment in his artistic practice and as a member of humanity.

 Working with ink, charcoal, watercolors, phosphorus pigments, silk, and polyester threads, Zwelethu presents eight works to translate the message of human connection. His distinct multiple exposure portraits are present throughout this body of work. The intersecting ink fine lines cascade through overlapping facial reconstruction of his subjects, symbolizing our outer and inner self. Watercolors flow through these fine lines indicative of the connection between the body and the soul.