#46: Zukhanye 'Zuzu' Ndlaleni
This week we are joined by artist & student, Zuzu Ndlaleni, who tells us more about exploring the colour Blue as an artistic medium, home cooked meals, using faith to combat anxiety, and more.
Zukhanye ‘Zuzu’ Ndlaleni is an artist based in Johannesburg who is currently studying her final year in BA Fine Arts at the University of Witwatersrand. She was born in 2001 in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, but she moved to Johannesburg when she was 6 years old. Her interest in art has always been part of her from a young age as her mother would have fashion magazines around the house.
In May 2023, Zuzu Ndlaleni, showed at Constitutional Hill Women’s Jail in a group exhibition, ‘Rites of Passage’ (2023), coordinated by Among the Lilies. In July 2023, Ndlaleni was shortlisted top ten for Wits Young Artist Award and also showed at Turbine Art Fair, ‘I now pronounce you a community’.
We welcome Zuzu to The FRM Newsletter to share what she’s been into recently.
👒🩰 Fashion
I would describe my sense of fashion as a mixture of my moods, sometimes girly, playful, fun, minimal and reserved; other times bold, dramatic, artistic and full of ‘main character’ energy in its own uniqueness. I don’t believe in a one set sense of style as it deprives my creativity to try new things.
Since I was young I have always loved fashion and dressing up. Having fashion magazines like Grazia around the house really sparked my creativity. I don’t really have an ultimate favourite fashion brand, but there is a particular fashion brand that I absolutely adore on how they have a playful side to their pieces, but also the curation on how their shows are done, this has to be Jacquemus.
💿🎧 Music
The music I’m into is very diverse, such as my style; it really goes with my mood. I can go from listening to Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, Raury to Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, The Weeknd and Kanye West.
🎬🎭 Film
I am literally a film fanatic. I love a good movie, it just really puts me in a great mood. To narrow down what I enjoy watching will literally require me to do an entire essay, but the top 5 films/ directors I do enjoy and never get sick of are, 1. Any Ari Aster film, 2. Wes Anderson’s movies literally have my heart, 3. The Godfather 1 & 2, 4. Scarface and 5. The Lion King (ANIMATION).
To draw also on TV shows I think the ultimate binge worthy ones are ‘The Sopranos’, ‘Game of Thrones’, ’Succession’ and ‘Attack on Titan’.
📚💌 Books
I just got into reading this year and I’m in love with how well I am doing, considering how awful of a reader I was for the last 21 years. A book that I really cannot get over is ‘No Longer Human’ by Osamu Dazai. My current read is ‘Babel’ by R.F. Kuang which for sure will easily be one of my favourite books when I’m done.
🍛 Food
Home cooked meals for the win.
🗺🚉 Travel and Lifestyle
I would describe my lifestyle and travel activities as spontaneous with a hint of homebody energy. I really love going to new spaces and seeing different and unique surroundings, but also like being comfortable.
🎨💙 Art
I am very fortunate to be doing something I love and can call it work. My art is something very personal to me.
My exploration with Blue deals with an imaginative figure of awkward facial expression and stances; placed in isolated rooms, spaces, dealing with uncomfortable topics and everyday experiences. Blue shifts from the imaginative figure, my surroundings, to individuals I encounter everyday (my friends) who I see navigate with the same constant daily struggle. Blue is more than a colour to me; as I see it as a medium. My works deal with my inner struggle of daily anxiousness, anxiety disorder, derealisation, depersonalisation, existentialism and religious faith.
When individuals encounter my work, I want them to get a sense that they are not alone; we are all navigating this space together, through the sticky entanglements of everyday life and the awkward feeling of trying to understand our position in this space.
💭🛐 Last thought
I’m in a place in my life where I live with faith. I don’t know what is going to happen next month, next week or even the next day; it's all so amazing and scary at the same time. I begin to remember this every time I get overwhelmed or anxious about my future.