ARTIST BIO
CAITLIN MKHASIBE
Caitlin Mkhasibe (b. 1993 Johannesburg. Zulu surname pronounced, mmm.ca.sea.beh) is a Cape Town-based mixed-media artist who got her BAFA from the Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, in 2015. Mkhasibe majored in New Media, focusing on sound and visual projection installations.
The materials she uses to create her artworks are animal-friendly and she utilizes abstract mark-making to render organic textures from nature to discuss political ecology, metaphysical moods and outer space. Caitlin has explored how human made sounds affect echolocation between marine life. This was done through monochromatic interpretations of spectrogram/ sonographic textures amalgamated with illustrated parts of ships and creatures of the deep to form a coalescence of beings in and fragments of underwater scenes. Another eclectic element of her work was the use of homemade vegetable inks to illustrate the interdependence between natural ecosystems.
Mkhasibe’s current animal friendly materials are: vegan acrylic paints and vegan acrylic inks without animal derivatives or animal testing; vegan Hahnemühle paper (plant derivatives used to stretch the paper), cotton canvas, vegan archival pens and vegan paint brushes made from synthetic hair, soya wax (no bees wax derivatives). Mkhasibe also uses wax paper, chalk, charcoal, pencil and sometimes does digital manipulation post-production.
Since 2013, Emergent Art Space – a non-profit art platform based in San Francisco – has afforded Mkhasibe online writing opportunities about her art and physical group exhibitions, such as, Boundless Space…the Possibilities of Burning Man at Sotheby’s in New York (in collaboration with Burning Man and co-produced by Grammys’ set designer, David Korins), Translations at the Nandalal Bose Gallery in the Rabindranath Tagore Centre in India, both Last Image Show exhibitions at Alliance Française in Tanzania and Zambia in collaboration with KokoTen Studio|Art Gallery and in Art and Human Rights at Concordia University in Canada. Mkhasibe has also exhibited on Artsy for the Amref Health Africa ArtBall, co-curated by Atim Anette Oton of Calabar Gallery in Harlem, New York. In 2022, Mkhasibe became a board member of the US-based International Association for Synesthetes, Artists and Scientists (IASAS) – a non-profit organization that raises awareness of the cross-sensory experience of synesthesia. She exhibited and presented her works at IASAS’ online conferences, Synesthesia in Africa: Discovery, Awareness, Research and Outreach and Synesthesia and the Student – both supported by Concordia University. In 2023, Mkhasibe was one of the contributors in Mieko Shiomi’s, Spatial Poem No.5, at Japan Society in New York as part of the 60th Fluxus movement anniversary – Out of Bounds: Japanese Women Artists in Fluxus. Yoko Ono and Mieko Shiomi are two of the four Japanese women artists who exhibited at this 60th anniversary who pioneered Fluxus. Mkhasibe’s art was published on the cover of Omenana speculative fiction magazine based in Nigeria and in an entire South African literary magazine called, Prufrock.
Mkhasibe has also exhibited locally in group shows at 99 Loop, Rust-en-Vrede Gallery, Gallery of the University of Stellenbosch and more. Mkhasibe was one of the session drummers for, Untitled (with a sound of its own making), a solar-powered, multi-channeled loudspeaker system and audio as part of artist James Webb’s two solo exhibitions titled, Ecstatic Interference (2016) at Blank Projects in Cape Town and We Listen for the Future (2016 – 2017), at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Leeds.
Since 2016, Mkhasibe has had her artworks available through Unsung Art (Cape Town), and recently, on her online store (caitlinmkhasibe.com).
Ongoing since 2020, Mkhasibe has been collaborating with award-winning and certified eco-friendly bespoke wallpaper studio, Robin Sprong Wallpapers. Her exclusive artist series and fine art prints are available from robinsprong.com, with local and global printing and installation agents in Singapore, Australia, Netherlands, UK and North America. Notably, her wallpaper was displayed in AAFRICAA store curated by PLATFORM Creative at the V&A Waterfront.
Mkhasibe collaborated with Tangled Thoughts of Leaving (Australia) on their 2023 studio album’s artwork and merchandise for Oscillating Forest. TToL have released music and toured internationally through labels: Pelagic Records, based in Germany, and now, Bird’s Robe in Australia, in partnership with Dunk!Records of Dunk!Festival in Belgium.
In 2021, Mkhasibe collaborated remotely with printmaker and bookbinder, Elize de Beer, of Ireland-based, Bookward Bound Bindery, on an limited edition artwork titled, Holding Space for Creativity. The artwork consists of an illustrated cover and hand-painted spine guards by Mkhasibe and de Beer handbound the 128 unlined, Munken Pure pages and cover with a three thread coptic stitching.
Mkhasibe plays drums in post-rock band, Morning Pages, who have performed at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, Gallery University Stellenbosch, the Book Lounge, Sound and Motion Studios, the Alexander Theatre, Theatre Artists Admin Collective, Edge of Wrong music festivals, live venues such as, Manila Bar, the Shack and others with Darkroom Contemporary dance company, local musicians and audio-visual artists.
WRITING LINKS ON EMERGENT ART SPACE (US)
- Read Caitlin’s article, The Intersection of Sight and Sound.
- Take a look at the artwork series on synesthetic conjunctions, Synesthetic Fusion, Intersection and Overlap.
- Read about Caitlin’s participation in the online symposium and exhibition, Synesthesia in Africa: Discovery, Awareness, Research and Outreach.
- Read about the web-based project, Synesthesia and Harbisson.
- Take a look at the series, Untitled.
- ◊ Read Caitlin’s interview with Vivien Ahrens.
- View Outer Space Meditation series.
- Read Caitlin’s article, Wallpaper: Conjuring Metaphysical Moods and Deep-Sea Landscapes.
◊ Not written by Caitlin Mkhasibe