Boyce Magandela grew up in abject poverty in the township of Langa, Cape Town. He studied Fine Arts, and his breakthrough as an independent artist came after being a finalist in the ABSA bank Art Atelier Award Contest.
Boyce: “I’m interested in the changing social dynamics of my community, and that’s why I capture slices of daily life.” As a young boy, he slept in a bed with four brothers under the same type of blankets he now uses acrylic paint to paint and embroider residents of his old neighborhood, with the fringes still attached. Despite his poverty, the blankets symbolize the security, warmth, and safety of the family.
In his urge to push boundaries, he began embroidering township residents on used rugs he bought from residents under one condition: he could depict a family member on the rug. Thus, with needle and thread, he immortalizes a resident who may have left thousands of footprints on such a rug.
The originality and creativity of his work also caught the attention of the curator of Museum Rijswijk, resulting in two works by Boyce Magandela, which we acquired, being exhibited during the 2023/2024 Textile Biennale, The Power of Image in Rijswijk.
