Nokukhanya Langa
"What they do for me as a painter, psychologically, is that they allow for a playfulness and an attitude to explore image making that I don’t have with a straight edge canvas. They embody this idea of something that is not easily measurable and each canvas is unique."
Our interview with Nokukhanya Langa discusses their process and show at Saatchi Yates Gallery.
Interview by Richard Starbuck.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background? Where did you study?
I did my undergraduate degree in the USA and did my graduate degree in the Netherlands. I was encouraged to go to an art school for my first degree but decided not to because I felt like I was too young to focus entirely on art, so I did a liberal arts degree where I majored in art. My graduate degree was where I was really got a chance to focus all my energy on art and having the Netherlands as a new context to do that really altered the way I work.
Saatchi Yates presents a two-person exhibition featuring your works alongside Bruce Nauman's. How has this opportunity to showcase your art at Saatchi Yates influenced your perspective on your own work, especially in relation to Nauman's conceptual methodologies and themes?
What I really enjoy about this show in particular is the scale of it all. In one way it’s the scale of space and in another it’s the scale of placing my work alongside Nauman’s. There are so many ways a painting can be read and I think this show creates a context where Nauman introduces a way to read my paintings in a conceptual way, just by virtue of his presence. I think the video combines so serendipitously with the paintings. Thinking about Nauman and the legacy that he carries as an artist, emboldened me to take bigger steps in my own painting practice and it’s been an incredible honour producing work that I knew would be fortified and contextualised next to his work.
There is so much that an artist can learn from Nauman’s work, attitude, and approach towards making regardless of medium.
Your canvases often take on unconventional shapes and forms. Can you discuss the process behind creating these unique shapes and how they contribute to the overall impact and meaning of your paintings?
The first painting I made with this form was about 5 years ago for a solo show. I made it with construction materials which one of my studio mates was working with. I was having a lot of anxiety for this show and essentially I was trying to make a personal talisman that resembled a stone and I imagined this object would keep me safe as a painter. Insanity. I would then go on to do a residency in Belgium and when I would look back on my work I realized I had opened a path that felt endless with possibilities. What they do for me as a painter, psychologically, is that they allow for a playfulness and an attitude to explore image making that I don’t have with a straight edge canvas. They embody this idea of something that is not easily measurable and each canvas is unique. I feel more comfortable making compositions on a form that feels physical and doesn’t take itself too seriously, as though it’s a space where even imperfections are interesting and welcomed.
Noku / Nauman, Saatchi Yates, 2024
At least the sun still shines, 2024
Some psychic pain, 2024
I've been around for millennia, 2024
Noku / Nauman, Saatchi Yates, 2024
Your art often uses dark humor, abstract designs, and text to challenge power structures and address contemporary issues. What are the main themes or messages you want to convey through your work, and how do you hope people will interpret these elements?
The themes that come up in my work are always intuitive and I try to make room for whatever direction I end up pursuing and trust that there is a story unfolding throughout the work. The connection between my life and the life of my paintings is inevitable and I understand that who I am inherently informs the reading of my work. I use my work to explore my own personal history, the collective histories I exist within and something transcendental as well. I’ll never give anyone a way or key to read my work because I’m still making sense of how important that is, but I do hope there is a multiple-ness that is conveyed and felt. I do very much believe in people having their own experience to work without me showing them where they should go.
Tell us a bit about how you spend your day / studio routine? What is your studio like?
When i’m working it’s an all consuming experience. I don’t set any hours for how long I work so I make sure I get to my studio between 12-3 and will work past midnight into the morning. On a normal day I go into my studio, change into my painting clothes, turn on my heater and warm up for 30m while I look at images I’ve saved then start working. I have different modes of working from prepping canvases to working on glazes to doing more detailed work so I’m more or less switching between those things.
I listen to music almost constantly but recently I’ve been listening to a podcast. It can be a very tiring process depending on how into the thick of it I am. My studio is usually incredibly messy but then I try to keep my home really clean and minimal so that I’m not overstimulated. What artwork have you seen recently that has resonated with you? I look at so many artworks that it’s hard to say what the last thing that resonated with me was but recently for some reason I’ve been looking at a lot of tattoos and finding myself coming back to images of tattoos quite often and have been enjoying the works of specific tattoo artists that I’ve come across.
Is there anything new and exciting in the pipeline you would like to tell us about?
I’m just looking forward to what I end up making next. I feel like I surprise myself sometimes and I’m hoping I can keep that same energy moving forward. There are so many things I want to get into.
All images courtesy of the artist and Saatchi Yates Gallery
Interview publish date: 04/07/2024
