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Considering Composites | Thebe Phetogo
Moving between figuration and abstract landscapes, painter Thebe Phetogo raises questions about the construction of identity, particularly with Black bodies, through references to history, politics, and geography. Phetogo’s personal experiences inform his works, which are in part an attempt to assert his presence as a Black Motswana man and to extend his image into the future.
Phetogo is known for his arresting use of vivid color. The electric green employed across his “Blackbody” series (2020) references cinematic green screens. The color serves as a metaphor for a painting’s potential to be a screen onto which new images, ideas, and identities can be projected. Primarily a painter, Phetogo incorporates traditional mediums like oil and acrylic with floor wax and shoe polish.