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Faith47, alternatively Faith XLVII, (born
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
, 1979) is a South African interdisciplinary artist. Her inaugural museum exhibition CLAIR OBSUR took place at the Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy (2023). She has held solo exhibitions in Paris (2023), Cape Town (2021) , Miami (2018), New York City (2015),"Faith47's New Exhibition "Aqua Regalia – Chapter Two""
''Juxtapoz Magazine''.
London (2014)"Previews: Faith47 – “Aqua Regalia” @ Moniker Projects"
''ArrestedMotion''.
and
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
(2012).


Career

Faith XLVII began painting in 1997, three years after the end of
apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
. Using a wide range of media, her approach is explorative and substrate appropriate – from found and rescued objects, to time-layered and history-textured city walls, to studio-prepared canvas and wood. Common themes across Faith's work include sacred and mundane spaces as well as political problems, from environmental destruction, border abolition, and humanitarian issues. Her female figures speak to female empowerment. Her art and rich symbolism speaks to issues of injustice, poverty, and inequality. Her murals are often referred to as post-apartheid, as they confront the failure of neo-liberal politics of the South African Freedom Charter in violent and impoverished townships in South Africa. Her works are often associated with spirituality. In one of Faith's books she writes, "I am not religious but I pray through my work to unknown devils and gods. I look for my soul in colors and empty my being through parables of rusted, lost metal doors." She also has mentioned in an interview her process of urban exploration in which she feels spirits, "In empty buildings that felt like spiritual experiences, exploring holy chambers of neglected architecture... finding something so beautiful in what society disregards, and bringing to life that which usually people throw away or ignore." One can see the influence on environment in her site specific works, exploring abandoned spaces in her work is a recurring basis. Faith has a son, Keya Tama Keya was born in 1997 and is an artist who has worked under the alias' Cashril Plus and Jack Fox before finally settling on his given name, Keya Tama. Faith has been extensively traveling and creating site-specific artwork globally since 2006. Her artwork can be found in over 50 cities worldwide. Faith is a self-taught artist. Her schooling came through graffiti art of which she began in 1997. Her move into contemporary gallery and studio environment, as well as her exploitive directions into multimedia projects can define Faith as a
multidisciplinary An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, ...
artist"SA Artists Create a Lunar Miracle"
''The Sunday Times''.
and in a league quite unique of her own. Faith has been primarily based in South Africa, she spent 3 years in Los Angeles from 2017 - 2020. From 2020 till present Faith has been nomadic, while her son Keya is currently living in New York.


Solo exhibitions

2012, ''Fragments of a Burnt History'', David Krut Gallery, Johannesburg. Faith's first solo exhibition considered the transformation of Johannesburg into a more representative African city. 2014, ''Aqua Regalia – Chapter One'', Moniker Projects, London. 2015,''Aqua Regalia – Chapter Two'', Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York. 2018, ''ELIXIR'', Fabien Castanier Gallery, Miami. Elixir was a
multi-disciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...
exhibition conceived by Faith XLVII 2021, ''CHANT'', Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town. Through this multidisciplinary exhibition in her hometown, CHANT investigates how to deal with personal events, natural disasters and disruptive external situations. 2023, ''CLAIR OBSCUR'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy, France This is Faith's first Museum exhibition, the collection comprises wax-crayon drawings, stitched-map tapestries, installations, videos, and Polaroids that reflect on the fundamental duality between light and dark.


Notable public art

Following an active street art career spanning more than fifteen years, Faith's work can now be found in cities around the world. Notable works include: ;2010, The Freedom Charter,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
Taking her inspiration from the old political slogans and stencils that were used during the struggle against
apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
, Faith used sentences from the
Freedom Charter The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, which consisted of the African National Congress (ANC) and its allies: the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats ...
document that she felt were still pressing in South Africa."Fighting for freedom"
''Design Indaba''.
;2012, The Taming of the Beasts,
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
Faith painted ghostly rhinos on Shanghai walls at a time when the number of rhinos being poached for their horns was rising rapidly to meet demand from Asia."Faith47, 'The Taming of the Beasts', Shanghai"
''Unurth''.
;2012, The Long Wait,
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
These murals, of groups of men in various postures of waiting, reference photographs from Alexia Webster's photographic series, ''Waiting for Work''."The Long Wait – by Faith47"
''Wooster Collective''.
The works imply different kinds of waiting particular to a contemporary South African context. As Faith47 told Wooster Collective, "Miners are waiting for justice. Workers are waiting for a living wage. People are waiting for service delivery. Refugees are waiting for assistance. Men are waiting for jobs. We are all waiting for an honest politician. So many people are waiting for others to do things first. To take the blame. To do things for them. To take the fall. To build the country. To admit defeat. There has been so much waiting in this country that much time has been lost." ;2014, Harvest,
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
A partnership between Faith47, Design Indaba and ThingKing, the multi-story artwork lit up at night each time enough money was raised for one new light to be installed on a pathway in the informal settlement of Monwabisi Park,
Khayelitsha Khayelitsha () is a township (South Africa), township in Western Cape, South Africa, on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town, City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. The name is Xhosa language, Xhosa for ''New Home''. It is reputed to ...
, through the organisation VPUU (Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading). The intricate lighting pattern was an artistic endeavour that also served as a reminder that there were communities in the city that lack the luxury of light, which is a major public safety concern. ;2015, The Psychic Power of Animals, New York With this series, Faith47 reintroduced nature back into the urban metropolis.i "There's an inherent irony in recreating nature on cement, so the series is a nostalgic reminder of what we've lost but also an attempt to reintegrate that into the present," Faith47 said. "We have become so distanced from nature, so these murals are an attempt to reconnect us with the natural world.""Faith47 In NYC"
''Visi''.
;2015, Estamos Todos Los Que Cabemos,
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
Painted as part of the Monument Art NYC project's focus on immigration, ''Estamos Todos Los Que Cabemos'' utilises the migratory patterns of birds, observing that nature ignores human borders on a map. “We forget that the dividing lines specifying countries were merely drawn by politically hungry men. In reality, the earth is open. There are no countries, no borders, it belongs to no one. We are transient visitors and should travel as we please," Faith47 told Arrested Motion."Streets: Faith47 (New York)"
''ArrestedMotion''.
;2016, Landfill Meditation,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
Landfill Meditation reflects on the notion of progress and the waste that it leaves behind. ;2017, 21.10.2015,
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
&
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
This collaboration between Faith XLVII and Imraan Christian, 21.10.2015 is a series of three works, first exhibited at Everard Read gallery in Cape Town. The installation's starting point was an image taken by Imraan during the 2015 #feesmustfall student protests in Cape Town. The photograph documents the moment when peaceful protestors reacted violently as a response to sustained police brutality. ;2018, Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto,
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
This project took the form of site-specific mural entitled “Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto”, painted on
Skid Row, Los Angeles Skid Row is the unofficial name for a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles officially known as Central City East. Skid Row contains one of the largest stable populations of homeless people in the United States, estimated at over 4,400, and has ...
. The large-scale public installation adorns the city wall, giving space to the homeless. ;2018, The Unbound,
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
Painted in San Francisco, The Unbound series covers the UC Hastings University of Law Building in the Tenderloin. ‘The Unbound’ is an ode to the Peace
Manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...
, a request a ceasefire. “Watching the disharmony, the dismantling of human rights and the continuous struggle for equality is exhausting. The only way I can keep going is if I can transform some of this into my work.” Faith tells BOOOOOOOM ;2019, Ad Pacem,
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
Created in collaboration with artist, Inka Kendzia, Faith created a projection-mapped mural in Cincinnati during the Blink Light Festival. Faith's mural, thematically based on Eirene, the Greek goddess of peace, highlights working towards a society that functions on open communication and inclusion. AD PACEM received the CODA AWARDS for best Residential Artwork in 2023. ;2019, Mon Coeur,
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
In the weeks leading up to the sixth Global Fund Replenishment Conference, Faith completed a mural on the Maternity Ward of the Croix-Rousse hospital in Lyon. It was revealed along with 25 murals and installations, as part of a coordinated campaign across the globe (RED), aimed to drive heat and awareness around the
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
fight. ;2019, The Silent Watcher,
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
In Philadelphia, Faith completed her largest mural to date, as of 2019. Standing 11.000 square feet tall, this piece pays tribute to
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...
. ;2021, Medicinal Flowers of Lebanon,
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
Faith's series, ‘Medicinal Flowers of Lebanon’ contrasts the forms of medicinal flowers to the landscape, the metaphorical works in Medicinal Flowers of Lebanon lead “us along the brittle sites of Beirut, tracing past and present scars etched into the city,” the artist says. “Each flower urges us in a sense, towards healing as they grow out of the concrete.”


Immersive art

*2017, 2018, 2019, ''Astronomia Nova'',
Hologram Holography is a technique that allows a wavefront to be recorded and later reconstructed. It is best known as a method of generating three-dimensional images, and has a wide range of other uses, including data storage, microscopy, and interf ...
- Sweden *2017, ''Mysterium Tremendum'', Hologram - Miami *2017, 2018,''Upper Atmospheric Lightning'', Video Installation - Berlin, Cape Town *2017, 2019,''Aurum'', Performance - Berlin, Cape Town *2018, ''ЗОЛОТАЯ СЕРЕДИНА / The Golden Middle'', Light Installation - Moscow *2018,2021''The Disintegration of Self'', Video Installation - London, Cape Town *2019, ''Ad Pacem'', Projection Mapping Mural - Cincinnati *2021, Desecration Earth, Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town *2023, Gravity's Law, Musée des Beaux-arts de Nancy *2023, Source Des Voeux, Musée des Beaux-arts de Nancy *2023, The Illuminated Hour, Musée des Beaux-arts de Nancy


Sculptural Work

*2020, 'The Human Cause I, II, III' Brass and wood Sculpture. *2020, 'Empire' Bronze Sculpture. *2022, 'Sœr' Bronze Sculpture. *2024, 'Empire, Large-Scale' Bronze Sculpture.


Reception

Faith's work has been featured in
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
,
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
,
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
,"10 Women Street Artists Who Are Better Than Banksy"
''HuffPost''. 4 September 2014.
and
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
. "Faith47 celebrates the commonplace as holy in an attempt to disarm strategies of global realpolitik and advance the expression of personal truth. In this way her work is both an internal and spiritual release that speaks to the complexities of the human condition, its deviant histories and existential search." ''Juxtapoz'' "Using different mediums, including graphite, spray paint, oil paint, ink, photography and collage, she usually paints on found objects or discarded documents, transferring the feel of her mural works. The transparency of her mark making and the texture of finished works give them a sense of age and spirituality. Often mixing religious iconography with ordinary, everyday elements and geometrical objects, her paintings, drawings and sketches seem to have an almost sacramental importance." ''Arrested Motion'' “A South African artist whose textured imagery brings spirituality and nature to the foreground of urban environments." ''Huffington Post'' "A rare incantation of both the earthly and the transcendent." ''Mass Appeal'' "Transformative work... concerned with the valuation and transformation of things that have been lost or overlooked." ''Booooooom'' "Deeply profound visions existing as physical aesthetic gifts for other viewers." ''Supersonic Art'' "Equally at home in grimy alleys as she is in a studio, she creates murals that are both breathtaking and poignant. I challenge anyone to look at her work and not feel a little overawed by her talent." ''Carte Blanche''"Faith47: When Walls Speak"
''Carte Blanche''.


See also

* '' The Creators: South Africa Through the Eyes of Its Artists'' (2012) * '' Capax Infiniti'' (2014)


References


External links


Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faith47 1979 births Living people 21st-century South African women artists Pseudonymous artists Women graffiti artists South African muralists Women muralists