Bekezela Mabena (born 1996) is a South African-based visual artist originally from Zimbabwe. Now living and working in Tembisa, Johannesburg, Mabena’s practice explores complex themes of migration, identity, and belonging. His work draws on his personal experience of crossing borders—both physical and cultural—navigating life between his Zimbabwean heritage and South African reality.
Working primarily in mixed media, Bekezela combines screen printing, drawing, painting, and collage. His layered surfaces often integrate found materials, archival images, and text, reflecting how identities can be built from fragments of personal and collective memory. Through recurring motifs—such as maps, barbed wire, and stylized figures—he invites viewers to question notions of home, place, and dislocation.
A graduate of Artist Proof Studio in Johannesburg, Mabena is considered part of a new generation of young African artists redefining contemporary printmaking. His work has been shown in local exhibitions, and he continues to expand his practice through residencies and collaborative projects that engage with community and social justice issues.
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Bekezela Mabena (born 1996) is a South African-based visual artist originally from Zimbabwe. Now living and working in Tembisa, Johannesburg, Mabena’s practice explores complex themes of migration, identity, and belonging. His work draws on his personal experience of crossing borders—both physical and cultural—navigating life between his Zimbabwean heritage and South African reality.
Working primarily in mixed media, Bekezela combines screen printing, drawing, painting, and collage. His layered surfaces often integrate found materials, archival images, and text, reflecting how identities can be built from fragments of personal and collective memory. Through recurring motifs—such as maps, barbed wire, and stylized figures—he invites viewers to question notions of home, place, and dislocation.
A graduate of Artist Proof Studio in Johannesburg, Mabena is considered part of a new generation of young African artists redefining contemporary printmaking. His work has been shown in local exhibitions, and he continues to expand his practice through residencies and collaborative projects that engage with community and social justice issues.
