• South African visual artists Sindiso Nyosi, Baba Tjeko and Yay Abe create Art not Ads.
• Simultaneous 3 City Show: Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town.
• A ground-breaking medium – first in Africa.
• Art has the power to bring people together.

South African visual artists Sindiso Nyosi, Baba Tjeko and Yay Abe are disrupting the Art space in more ways than one with three huge public-access Art pieces currently installed in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The simultaneous national installation of their works across the three cities has proved to be entertaining and captivating in their use of dimensions, scale, colour and texture. But it is their unique African voices that have boldly interpreted the use of malt as a medium in their extraordinary pieces, a nod to the theme of “Pure malt in the right hands becomes pure art”, in collaboration with Stella Artois.

   “Lady And Man” by Sindiso Nyoni (installed at Mandela Square in Johannesburg)

“My piece is an ode to couples. Celebrating relationships, connection, compatibility, companionship and the optimism of love. These aspects inform the celebration of life, the creation of it, and the spirit of a union in living colour,” says Sindiso Nyoni, a contemporary illustrator, activist, street-artist, and multi-disciplinary graphic designer whose work has been showcased as far afield as New York, London, Berlin, Madrid, The Guggenheim Bilbao Museum, and The Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City.

   “A Woman named Stella” by Yay Abe (installed at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town)

For Cape Town artist, Yay Abe, when asked to create art using malt, he decided to create a piece that allows the viewer to walk around and appreciate the craftsmanship.

“I want the viewer to be intrigued to take a closer look at the technique used and marvel at the scale of the two sculptures where my illustrated artwork will live on,” says Yay. “I’ve illustrated an image of people enjoying each other’s company and made a point to draw a stylish woman of colour as our hero figure as I think it’s important to always be as inclusive as possible. The piece is adorned with scenes of Cape Town and nature all carried out in my signature style. I really want this piece to be about a positive feeling.”

   “Beautiful Connection” by Baba Tjeko (installed at Umghlanga Gateway Shopping Centre, Durban)

Award-winning, multidisciplinary, self-described Afrocentric artist, renowned for his use of traditional Basotho Litma (mural art) painting techniques in contemporary styling, Baba Tjeko centered his piece around a modern African couple who exude calm and confident energy of class and sophistication.

“Their appearance shows an African pride in how they are dressed while the whole image communicates a contemporary setting. It’s an intimate and beautiful moment shared. An important part of my work is promotion of African self-respect in a dignified and sophisticated way, and I hope I achieved this,” says Baba.

All the artists used raw malt grains as a ground-breaking medium on their canvasses. The artworks were first conceptualized & drawn, followed by being treated with different colours and then 1000s of grains applied to the canvasses.

“We believe that while all beers have the same ingredients, our brewers are likened to artists creating masterpieces. Similarly, we asked Baba, Sindiso and Yay to take the same ingredients of Pure Malt and create Pure Art. The installation is also our contribution to the aesthetic of our cities while examining what it means to be human, in the belief that art has the power to bring people together,” said Marsha Kumire, Brand Director High End Africa.

The installation of “Pure Malt In The Right Hands Becomes Pure Art” will run in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban until end August.