Your name
Tshepiso Moropa
Place of birth
Pretoria, South Africa
Place where you live now
Johannesburg, South Africa
3 words to describe you
Curious. Creative. Calm.
Why do you take pictures?
I’ve always been a nostalgic person so taking pictures in a way, made it easier for me to always look back at a particular moment and relive it. Photography is such a special form of art and it always finds its way into people’s lives without them even realising it whether it is family albums or pictures on the phone. As a collage artist, I sometimes use pictures from my personal collection and family photographs from photo albums as well. In a way it always leads me back to the feeling of nostalgia and reliving a moment in time.
Where do you get your inspiration?
The collages I use are inspired by SeTswana (a language spoken in Southern Africa) folktales or folklores I used to hear growing up. These were stories that my aunt or my mother used to narrate to me when I was younger. I would often imagine how the characters or a particular environment would look as they recounted the story. I guess the collages that I create are a depiction of what I would think a particular folktale would look like.
Who are your influences?
Arthur Jafa. Frida Orupabo. Black history. Dramatic / theatrical music sometimes.
What determines the subject matter you choose?
I always use African archival imagery for my work which I source. At times I use images from my own family archives.
What impact would you like your art to have?
I always hope that my work resonates with people in one shape or form. I find it so interesting when people reach out to me to tell me how my work reminds them of a time where someone in their family would tell stories of the past or how story telling was a big activity when they were younger. There’s something comforting about storytelling and in a way, I want my work to illustrate the nostalgia we all experience through my work.
What artwork do you never get bored with?
Larry Sultan is a photographer who inspires me quite a bit. His book called Pictures From Home is one of my favourite art monographs.
Is there anything you want to add?
None! :)
