It was with great sadness that on December 20 Dinkies Sithole - artist, dancer and friend - passed away.  He was taken quickly after a brief illness and has left a great hole, particularly at The Bag Factory Artists Studios where he had a studio. Sithole was a dedicated artist who was often to be found working late, a comforting presence for others working after dark in an otherwise creepy building.

He was a supportive member of his artistic community and an eager experimenter in a number of artistic disciplines. His favoured media stretched...

It was with great sadness that on December 20 Dinkies Sithole - artist, dancer and friend - passed away.  He was taken quickly after a brief illness and has left a great hole, particularly at The Bag Factory Artists Studios where he had a studio. Sithole was a dedicated artist who was often to be found working late, a comforting presence for others working after dark in an otherwise creepy building.

He was a supportive member of his artistic community and an eager experimenter in a number of artistic disciplines. His favoured media stretched to include dance, performance, video, painting, sculpture and print-making.

Born in Soweto, Sithole studied at the Pelmama Art Centre in Soweto and learned his dance techniques as a member of the Whizzkid Dance Group in Soweto in the late 1980s, where he practiced ballet, break-dancing and tap-dancing. As a dancer and choreographer he was involved in the Arts Alive and the Grahamstown Arts Festival.

Sithole was inspired by ritualistic and spiritual journeys, with his work, way of life and love of nature being intrinsically linked.  Since childhood he was fascinated by the philosophy and painting techniques of the San people.  Following an exchange of ideas with Asian students during his exhibitions in New York and Vermont, Sithole also came to draw inspiration from Shaman and Buddist philosophies.  His works on paper reflect a certain calligraphic quality, using oriental inks and collage techniques on textured rice papers.  He loved to explore the relationship between the elements of earth, wind, water and fire and he described his paintings as that which ‘speaks of the human spiritual experience in uncovering our hidden sentiments as we confront our reality in relation to time and space’.

Sithole was greatly interested in inspiring a younger generation and was actively involved in outreach work where he would encourage disadvantaged children to use performance and dance to express themselves.

He exhibited prolifically both as a solo artist and in group shows which included international exhibitions in New York and Liverpool.  Most memorable, perhaps in recent years, were his The Red Carpet performance at the opening of Cape 07 and his video performance with spinning black BMW which he performed for the ‘Rites of Fealty/Rites of Passage’ performance art exhibition at The Bag Factory.

Sithole’s good humor and positive energy will be sorely missed.