IN CONVERSATION WITH KAMOGELO VIOLET SEBOPA
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Kamogelo Violet Sebopa (b. 2002) is a multidisciplinary artist and curator based in South Africa. She recently completed a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her practice centers on the intersection between the geological and the biological, using landscape as a medium to explore histories that are both recorded and omitted.
Sebopa’s work investigates the unseen narratives embedded within natural forms, engaging themes of abstraction, escapism, and performative mark-making. Through her meditative and therapeutic creative process, she interrogates how history is preserved, constructed, or erased—particularly within archival institutions. Her art critiques how memory and meaning shift depending on who records history, how it is archived, and how it is later consumed.
A significant aspect of her practice involves re-engaging with South African rock art. For Sebopa, this is not only a visual inspiration but a personal calling—a way of tracing genealogies and understanding the innate human impulse to make marks. Her connection to rock art raises questions about preservation: Who decides what gets remembered? And at what cost?
She argues that the excavation of historical materials often distorts their meaning, removing them from original contexts and repackaging them for modern consumption. This process, while driven by human curiosity, can unintentionally fragment and obscure history. Sebopa challenges the belief that preservation alone can safeguard the integrity of the past, warning that as society accelerates into the future, it risks losing the essence of what history truly is.
Sebopa’s work investigates the unseen narratives embedded within natural forms, engaging themes of abstraction, escapism, and performative mark-making. Through her meditative and therapeutic creative process, she interrogates how history is preserved, constructed, or erased—particularly within archival institutions. Her art critiques how memory and meaning shift depending on who records history, how it is archived, and how it is later consumed.
A significant aspect of her practice involves re-engaging with South African rock art. For Sebopa, this is not only a visual inspiration but a personal calling—a way of tracing genealogies and understanding the innate human impulse to make marks. Her connection to rock art raises questions about preservation: Who decides what gets remembered? And at what cost?
She argues that the excavation of historical materials often distorts their meaning, removing them from original contexts and repackaging them for modern consumption. This process, while driven by human curiosity, can unintentionally fragment and obscure history. Sebopa challenges the belief that preservation alone can safeguard the integrity of the past, warning that as society accelerates into the future, it risks losing the essence of what history truly is.
