Siphamandla Ex, Mondli Mbhele and Patrick Seruwu look at growth through ambition, memory, culture and the experiences that shape everyday life.
Where We Bloom brings together three artists who approach identity and personal growth from very different places. At Lizamore at the Firestation, Siphamandla Ex, Mondli Mbhele and Patrick Seruwu each focus on the people, memories and social pressures that influence how we see ourselves.
For Siphamandla Ex, the focus is on young people, ambition and the image of success. His paintings draw on fashion, social media and the polished look of online culture, where clothing, posture and lifestyle can become signs of achievement and belonging.
The works form part of his ongoing series Behind the Lens of Luxury. Ex is interested in the difference between how success appears and the realities many young South Africans face, including unemployment and inequality. His paintings ask what happens when identity is shaped as much by aspiration and image as by lived experience.
Mondli Mbhele works with lining fabric, discarded textiles and wool embroidery. These materials are closely tied to clothing, but also to memory and family. Lining fabric, usually hidden inside a garment, becomes a way for Mbhele to think about the parts of people’s lives that are not always visible.
His use of wool is connected to memories of his grandmother, who knitted clothing for the family during winter. That personal history runs through work concerned with time, place, care and cultural inheritance. His figures often appear together in shared spaces, capturing moments that feel familiar and deeply human.
Patrick Seruwu, a Ugandan artist based in Johannesburg, focuses on emotional experience. His figurative works deal with vulnerability, dignity and resilience, using washes, drips, layered colour and recurring symbols to suggest feelings that are often difficult to put into words.
Seruwu is interested in the difference between what people show on the outside and what they carry within. His portraits leave room for uncertainty, allowing strength and vulnerability to exist together.
Seen together, the three artists give Where We Bloom a broad view of what growth can mean. For Ex, it is tied to ambition and image; for Mbhele, to memory and inheritance; for Seruwu, to emotional experience and resilience. The exhibition shows how identity develops slowly, through the places we live, the people around us and the experiences we carry with us.
