Mbali is a mixed media visual artist and curator based in Johannesburg. She studied printmaking at Artist Proof Studio before completing a BTech in Fine Arts at UJ.
Mbali was introduced to printmaking by a master printer at a community studio in Kliptown, Soweto. The artists used to go out into the streets, observe, capture, and bring back traces of their findings to the studio. This kind of documentary exploration was then translated into printmaking. She explains that the community was impoverished but there were always children playing in the streets, often with the sound of women’s laughter. Mbali says “this is one of my earliest memories of how the plight of black woman and children became an interest in my artistic practice.” Another issue at the heart of Mbali’s artistic practice deals with mental health and its stigma.
