Sam Nhlengethwa Waiting Lithographs

Sam Nhlengethwa working on grained film for Waiting Series of prints at The Artists' Press.

In these lithographs, Sam Nhlengethwa explores the topic of waiting. Most South Africans are good at being patient to beyond the limits of endurance. South Africans spend a lot of their lives in line waiting for public transport, waiting to be served at clinics, waiting to receive their pensions, waiting for water to be installed in their street, waiting at Home Affairs for documents, waiting for answers from corrupt politicians and business people. We are a nation of people who wait. "We all see people waiting and sometimes we become victims of waiting," says Nhlengethwa. In these prints, Nhlengethwa explores some aspects of the experience of waiting, South African style.

Where are those kids? Two neatly dressed grandmothers wait. Are they waiting for their grandchildren to visit? Their own children or perhaps it is their husbands who have slipped off and gone somewhere they should not? Waiting for an answer suggests a moment of tension between the young couple, uncomfortably sitting at a table. It could be a proposal, a confession of infidelity or an announcement of a pregnancy. SASSA?! refers to the South Africa Social Security Agency, on which millions depend for their pensions, disability and child support grants. SASSA has been embroiled in endless inefficiencies and seemingly dodgy arrangements which has resulted in people waiting even more than they normally would. One more shot focuses on a man alone at a bar, waiting for what has probably become his lifeblood. Appointment at Spaza Shop could be a meeting up of friends, a get together to discuss business opportunities, a romantic liaison or something more sinister. The open-ended titles of the prints leave the interpretation up to the viewer, allowing us to each bring our own experiences of waiting to the work.

For links to other prints done by Nhlengethwa, please scroll to the bottom of this page.

Artists A - L

Artists M - X

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A man standing with his bicycle next to a barred spaza shop window.

Title: Appointment at Spaza Shop
Medium: Five colour lithograph
Paper size: 50 x 64.8 cm
Image size: 40 x 57 cm
Edition size: 35
Price: R 11 200 (excl.VAT)

Two elderly women wearing doeks standing next to each other with a window frame behind them

Title: Where are those kids?
Medium: Five colour lithograph
Paper size: 50 x 64.8 cm
Image size: 40 x 57 cm
Edition size: 35
Price: R 11 200 (excl.VAT)