Artist Ndikhumbule Ngqinambi, born in 1977, is a South African painter based in Cape Town. Though he studied at Community Arts Project in Cape Town, he is mostly a self-taught visual artist. Ngqinambi’s work is inspired by sound, films, body movement and dance. He describes his work as “extreme figurative expression”. His paintings reflect South African and international political landscapes and their social dynamics. 

He is currently working on a project called, “The Upright Ones”, which explores the fine line between justice and mercy. The fictional narrative involves a leader who grooms modern AI-integrated soldiers with a mission to defend a certain precious land and its occupying people from the merciless rulers, who squander the resources of the land. The project explores the possibilities of both narration and painting. 

Ndikhumbule has won several artist residencies. In 2011 he was Awarded the Peter Denzig and Lava Thomas residency award at Djerassi Artist residency in California, USA. In the same year, he also participated in a residency at Sacater Bahia Brazil. In 2012, he won the Foundation Brachere residency award at the Dak’art Biennale in Senegal. Following this, in 2013, he was awarded a residency at the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Germany. And later in 2017, he was invited to take part in a residency at Laspis Sweden, recommended to him by the renowned Professor Sarat Mahaj.

Ndikhumbule participated in several solo exhibitions both locally and internationally. He has exhibited in spaces ranging from museums, experimental projects and commercial galleries. He has worked with galleries such as Everard Read, Barnard Gallery, and Ebony. And currently, runs a multi-media arts company based in Cape Town called IMSW – Image Movement and Sound Works.