Wezile Harmans

Portrait of Wezile, courtesy of Jonathan Kope

Wezile Harmans (born in 1990 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa) is a visual art practitioner whose interdisciplinary practice encompasses performance, video, installation and mixed-media works as a tool for social change. His work confronts prejudices and advocates against social inequality, creating a platform for critical self-reflexivity within unwelcoming spaces. Harmans’ work is influenced by how things have come to existence, as well as motivations behind certain movements, reactions, human behaviours and mostly how these become symbols. In his practice, he uses the theory of defamiliarization as an alternative way to create further conversations.

Harmans’ works have been exhibited widely, including at LSE Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa (London), The Centre for the Less Good Idea (Johannesburg), and Hub Artivism and University of York (CAHR) (UK). His work has been acquired by Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, ArtbankSA National Museum of South Africa in Bloemfontein, and Brainlab Culture Program Munich. Accolades include the 2022 Best Visual Art Award in Creative Collection by the National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Prince Claus Fund Building Beyond 2022 Award, and 2019 David Koloane Award. Based in Cape Town, Harmans has an upcoming residency in Dakar, Senegal, hosted by BlackRockSenegal.

www.wezileharmans.com/