(Mural advertising the exhibition by Lwazi “King Zorro” Xaba)Inqola Noseyili, a photographic exhibition by Durban visual artist Lwazi “King Zorro” Xaba, opens at the Durban Art Gallery on July 17.
The direct translation for “Inqola Noseyili” refers to a typical goods carriage as used on freight trucks or trains and its canvas cover. In the context of King Zorro’s exhibition, though, Inqola Noseyili is a reference to the Zulu metaphor for a man and his troubles – like the carriage and its cover, a man and his troubles are inseparable.
The subject of the work is Durban’s trolley “boys”, who are up at the crack of dawn and toiling till late in the evening, carting the wares of the city’s informal traders to and from their places of business. They occupy the lowest rung of the economy, in servitude even to the lowly informal traders.
The 30 piece exhibition is King Zorro’s latest work, and in using the “invisible” trolley boys, sets a scale against which society can measure its own troubles.
As a tribute to these people from the parallel universe, a mural has been painted in their heartland – Warwick Junction. This mural is painted on the north face of the “unfinished highway” in the Early Morning Market precinct – itself recently under threat to be torn down and replaced by a modern day mall, effectively killing off the livelihood of many informal traders, with the trolley boys going down as collateral damage.
Facilitated by the artist, workshops will held during the opening week of the exhibition to discuss photography and the broader socio-economic commentary of the work.
Inqola Noseyili runs until 19 August at the Durban Art Gallery. For more information please contact Njabulo Mtshali (DAG Curator) on 083 771 3635 or King Zorro on 073 111 5749.
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