Nhlanhla Xaba was born in 1960. Nhlanhla Xaba represented the quintessential post-apartheid dream: he epitomized the self-tailored artist paying his way as a common worker while training as an artist, assisting young underprivileged artists and finally being awarded the highest accolade by the art establishment when he was named Standard Bank Young Artist in 1998.

Xaba’s artistic output showed various depictions of life in rural South Africa.  His work was, however, not merely an amalgam of typical images that readily captured the political and economic hardships of South Africa: it also captured what everyone feels about these atrocities and is intensely personal.

In 1991 Xaba became co-founder and co-director of...