Cinthia Sifa Mulanga was born in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997. Sifa graduated her 3rd year in 2020 at Artist Proof Studio in printmaking combining techniques such as intaglio, Linocut and silk screening. Her third-year body of work explored the politics surrounding the domestic space and notions of beauty within an Afropolitan context. Sifa works in many mediums including painting, collage, drawing, and photography. In 2019, she was awarded first place for a work created for a tribute exhibition to Louis Khela Maqhubela & Douglas Portway presented by Artist Proof Studio in partnership with Strauss & Co at the Turbine Art Fair. Sifa was also a trainee in the Special Projects Unit at the Artist Proof Studio and has received commissions from Bidvest Bank and Hogan Lovell. In 2020 Sifa participated in The TLC Student Lockdown Collection and exhibited her works on Latitudes Online. She currently lives and works in Johannesburg.
More from the artist: “My work explores beauty constructs as well as its psychological and physical impact on African women through the search for my own identity and those around me. I create moments within domestic spaces by using different mediums like acrylic with oil paint, charcoal, ink, and collage from personal photographs, newspapers, and magazines. Female silhouettes represent the "perfect women "perceived by society or the “absorber” that’s absorbed from social media. The moments I create in domestic spaces are dialogues between perceived beauty standards and stereotypes that function to both challenge and embrace African women. The Barbie doll, a primary inspiration in my work, is used with other feminine objects or symbols with associations with African women, representing thoughts, misconceptions, perceptions, and emotions. These spaces allow me to create conversations and interrogate notions of beauty.”
