Njabulo Hlophe enjoys seeing people appreciate his artwork in real time

Visual artist and illustrator Njabulo Hlophe creates artwork for his audience to enjoy in real time.   

“On social media things die very quickly,” says Hlophe.    

“It’s always about how people come into all of this. If I make the stuff and no one gets to experience it, did I become the storyteller? I want to tell stories in a way that will reflect the people around them.”    

The 27-year-old from Soweto, who goes by the pseudonym "Dirty Native Chief", believes that his people-focused artwork is bed-rocked in live interaction with the audience.    

“Public intervention has always been a key part of my work as I get to see my work existing in real-time with real reactions. Whether coming from my illustration background, characters [sculptures] or mural work, mine has always been finding interesting ways to tell stories.   

Hlophe’s unconventional approach to his art began with the intrigue of Soweto’s evolving township culture. Later, his exploration deepened with his daily commute from the southwest into scenic Johannesburg.   

“Raised by my grandparents, I was connected to a sense of community growing up. I was exposed to culture evolving in different ways in the township,” he says.

“I am still living in Soweto, just a different township."   

Captured by Newtown’s nuances as opposed to the rest of the city’s historic architecture, Hlophe was spellbound by the conversations that were taking place on its wall. These took place beyond the colourful graffiti and peeling alternative medicine pamphlets plastered on its exteriors.   

“The taxi I would take from Soweto to town would go by Newtown. I remember being so captivated by the pillars there. I would get off from there to take a closer look,” he remembers.

“If you want to know what’s happening in the business world, take a look at the billboards, but what the people want to tell you is on the walls.  

“When I looked at its walls, I realised I was watching conversations and stories take place in real time. I was thrilled by the experience and idea of being a voyeur of the tales of the city through the medium of these walls."

Hlophe’s only reference to being an artist was the sketch artist from his local shopping mall.  

“I didn’t think art would do much for me. The only reference I had of an artist was the guy at Southgate Mall who sketches children and portraits. I thought that couldn’t be the be-all and end-all of me. Once I grew, I began to see another side of art as storytelling,” he says.

Hlophe’s unique approach to his artwork was set off by his unorthodox journey into the creative space.    

A graduate of Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography in illustration, Hlophe received the opportunity after a brief lunch meeting.    

“I had to constantly prove myself to get into a lot of spaces, even to get into the university I got into through a scholarship that I received through a lunch conversation, not necessarily through the normal channels. I always had this DIY thing in me growing up in the township,” he says.

Formalised end of his tertiary schooling, his unique life experience shaped the name and brand of his studio, Dirty Native Studio.    

“A group of friends and I would camp out in abandoned buildings by Noord taxi rank. We were nicknamed those dirty guys because we skated and there was an air of discomfort whenever we were around. I had this branding of the dirty guys from the inner city. It’s the way of the underdog. The unconventional way. The alternative way, the underhanded way,”  he says. 

A far cry from the mall artist, Hlophe has since exhibited his work through various mediums at global exhibitions and galleries. Citing a particular piece of work as the realisation of his work’s message.   

“For the Global Sea World mural festive last year, we did the mural in Muizenberg, Western Cape. It was about highlighting issues of ocean safety and the preservation of sea life. It became the actualisation of everything I'm trying to say with my work,” he says.   

“Before 2023, I participated in solo installations in  Zurich, Switzerland, on 52 skateboards. I have since had my debut solo in Johannesburg and an installation at Cape Town.”    

“With the Johnnie Walker Blonde striding man sculpture, what was important was the mix of the colours. They had to be high energy and vibrancy, hence the liquid blue and yellow.

"I’ve painted other sculptures before, but I knew that this one would exist in the physical space with live guests as a narrative device, so it had to have a live element to it. Hence the liquid colours as though they are in motion.”