Sinenkosi Msomi’s love for photography started when his best friend, Clifford Dludlu, introduced him to the craft and from that point on, he began to see the world through a whole new lens. Born in Eswatini and now living in Mpolonjeni, Mbabane, Sinenkosi creates powerful staged and conceptual photographs that dive deep into meaningful themes. His work explores mental health, the importance of self-expression, and the lasting impact of childhood memories. In 2020, his art earned him the Social Justice Prize at the African Union and AfroChampions Nefertiti Art Prize a recognition of his bold reflections on justice, equality and inclusion. Through his camera, Sinenkosi doesn’t just take pictures he tells stories that matter.
M: Does art heal?
SM: I have always believed that art is a medium of self-expression, enabling me to focus on themes that touch on mental health, recollecting childhood memories and most importantly focusing on promoting self-expressions. These themes are an important tool in achieving healing.
This area of focus in my practise helps individuals to go deeper into their emotions and experiences, as this helps them to truly confront their feelings at that particular moment and understand them. Art has enabled my own healing by allowing me to express myself emotionally, through this aspect of my work, I have been able to use conceptual photography as a way to express feelings that might be difficult to articulate with words. I now understand all things seen and felt better.
Most artists can agree with me that creating art helps release stress and promotes relaxation. I always feel at my happiest when I create a new piece of art, it always feels like the greatest gift in this lifetime.
I was very surprised at how some of the people who were able to see my first solo exhibition were able to relate to the artworks emotionally. The whole experience was like a painful trip down memory lane with the aim of finding closure so one could be able to let bygones be, start again and enjoy living in the present.
M: Why my solo exhibition “All that Glitters is not gold” focused on the youth?
SM: “I chose to explore the topic of mental health because I had noted that the youth were suffering too silently, and I felt it was time this was addressed openly. It was an unsettling to me that this generation masks mental health issues by smiling and pretending everything is okay when things are falling apart . I wanted to encourage people to open up and seek help, so that they eliminate the battles they were facing against mental health illnesses. I wanted to use hope as a foundation or root that would keep people strong and more optimistic about the future.
Looking back now, I do realise that it is true that our generation is very sad but hides all that through the happy pictures we post on social media. I always try to document my work with a positive mentality, putting emphasis on the belief that things will get better one day.
This exhibition showed the impact of one’s childhood memories and also highlighting its effects on identity. The body of work created for this show echoed the importance of reflecting on our past experiences in order to heal.
Lastly, as an artist through my solo exhibition, all that Glitters is not Gold, I was able to use my photography to advocate for all the young men in Eswatini, showing the struggles they face in a society that forces them to continuously mask and hide their feelings of sadness. My work highlighted just how showing our vulnerability as young men was seen as a sign of being weak as a result of societal and cultural pressure for men to be always present themselves as strong. I always feel that we were always forced to grow up so early in life that we never enjoyed so many aspects of our childhood and now, sadly, we remember.
