I love the story of 'Chickenman' Mkhize. He was born in 1959 in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. A time when apartheid and conservatism was "normal" and education for the black majority was in no means a priority.
This is the world that Chickenman was born into, he had no formal education, could not read or write and could speak Zulu.
He lost his job as a farm laborer and here starts his journey as an artist.
Chickenman had no money for art materials so used found objects, wood, scrap metal, wire, scrap nails...anything he could find and created truly wonderful and naive treasures.
He created "road signs", but remember I said he was totally illiterate, so when he re-created the words he saw on the signs around him, there was no regard for their meaning or word breaks as none of that made any sense to him.
He sold his creations on the road side for next to nothing, enough to feed himself.
His work highlighted the lack of education for blacks under the apartheid government. I'm not sure that that was the goal for Chickenman, for him this was about survival.
Chickenmans work was exhibited in various galleries and is in local and international collections.
Chickenman died in 1995 at the age of 36.
Read more about this wonderful yet tragic artist:
www.leeds.ac.uk/cath/ahrc/events/2006/0111/abs/mkhize.html
https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-witness/20151005/281719793403409
www.sahistory.org.za › Biographies