VUYO MABHEKA, Popihuise

56pp., colour illus., hardback, Close Commune, Marseille, 2024

ISBN: 9791096383467

In his Popihuise series Vuyo Mabheka combines drawings, collages and rare childhood photos of himself to create scenes where he appears, sometimes accompanied by imaginary friends and sometimes in the presence of a fantasised and faceless father figure.

The word "popihuis" is the Xhosa vernacular for the Afrikaans word "pophuis", which refers to a dollhouse game familiar to children.

Vuyo Mabheka was born in 1999 in the rural town of Libode in the Eastern Cape and lives in Thokoza, Johannesburg. Growing up he experienced severe deprivation and periods of homelessness. In 2017 he participated in the Of Soul and Joy project, a mentoring programme created by Rubis Mécénat to enable young people from the township of Thokoza and surrounding areas to benefit from a training in photography. He is the recipient of the 2023/2024 Images Vevey Special Jury Prize and the Popihuise series was exhibited at the Biennale Images Vevey 2024.