My artistic practice involves a psychological and spiritual journey into the past in order to learn about my current status in society, how I can contribute and how people before me have contributed regardless of their disadvantages and flaws. The emotive quality in my work reflects extrinsic and intrinsic aspects of myself. I delve beyond the obvious in my search for identity and existentialism. I have discovered in order to move forward you have to engage the past and to deal with it if you’re going to shape a future that represents yourself.
My current series, which I call “The Middle Passage Revisited” gives credit to Tom Feelings,
narrator of “The Middle Passage”. It investigates the horrors of the slave trade endured by millions of Africans who were viciously uprooted and taken via European slave ships on a torturous sea journey across the Atlantic Ocean. I further explore this narrative by overlaying contemporary fashion and African lifestyle onto the work.
Prior work experience:
- Art educator at Visual Art Cherry where he taught juvenile offenders art,2012
- Fine Arts at Phetogane Secondary School,2013
- Lectured visual Arts as an assistant lecturer at Motheo TVET in 2014.
- Educator at Missourilaan Secondary School, (Visual Arts and Drama) 2014-2019
- Senior Curator at Eyethu Art Space
Curated/Exhibitions, Awards and competitions:
- Group exhibitions at Oliewenhuis Art Museum 2013
- Group exhibition titled Absa Township Art Exhibition Crew competition in the Batho location,2013
- Group Exhibition at Central University of the Free State, curated by Van Vuuren and P.W Burger in 2013,
- Group Exhibition at Touch of Genius Art Gallery in Randburg, 2017
- Silas Motse was also part of an international competition, Austrian Art Candid Cute Spring contest 17 and made it to the top 5,2017
- Group Exhibition at Soweto Theatre, titled Taking back the land of the mind,2018
- Pop up Exhibition at The Reef Hotel, titled (Untold and Unseen Struggles), 2018
- Group-Public Exhibition at Mall of AFRICA by Art Miller Institute of Art, 2019
- Digital feature with SEE.ME at The Affordable Art Fair in New York, 2019
- Featured at the National Arts Festival together with The Cultural Exchange and Imiloa, 2019
- Curated: Conversations with Queens Group Exhibition, 2019
- Pop up Exhibition (Bureaucracies of Rubbish: Recycling of Self Identity) at Eyethu Art Space (ongoing) 2019
- Group Exhibition: The revolution will be Televised: Soweto Art Week 6, ArtAlive 2019
- Group Exhibition: Mazars: Egoli ART Fair, with PinpointOne and Gavin Project. 2019
Awards
- State of the Arts Gallery Award winner: Peoples Choice Award. 2019
Performances and Features
- Silas performed live/flash drawing at Soma space, Sawubona Lounge in 2018 at Maboneng,
- He was sponsored by Miller to perform Flash Art during a tribute for Mme Winnie Madikezela Mandela at The Tavern.
- He was featured on Reggae Vibes show on Soweto TV
- And various music videos like Amasiko by Akwanda Entertainment released in June 2018
- He was hosted by Lebo Soweto Backpackers as a South African Visual artist during storytelling session,2018
- Live triple drawings during International jazz day at Eyethu Lifestyle Centre
- Live triple drawings at Concert for Refugees with Turquoise Harmony Institute. 2019
- Live drawings at the Paris and New-york Heritage Festival 2019 (@Soweto Theatre)
