Bambo Sibiya is a South African artist from Kwa Thema, Springs near Johannesburg.
He studied art at the Benoni Technical college and afterwards studied the printing
professional development programme at the Artist Proof Studio in Johannesburg. In
2012 he won the Gerard Sekoto award and an artist residency at the Cité des Arts in
Paris.
In South Africa, during apartheid, men from the rural areas journeyed to the cities in
search of work. Hoping to impress the families they left behind, the men would often buy
stylish new suits for their visits back home, and practice looking slick for their friends
and neighbours. From this the Swenkas evolved and working-class South Africans
would meet on a regular basis for competitions in which they would see who could put
together the best-looking outfit, and who knew how to move best in it. The men follow
certain set values, such as physical cleanliness, sobriety and above all self-respect.
