ADILSON DE OLIVEIRA

(b. 1998) was born and grew up in Bez Valley, Johannesburg, where he works as a multi-disciplinary artist, animator and cultural practitioner. In 2021 he graduated with a BA Fine Arts degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and started working as a print maker.

This sparked his interest in the machine as a technician and its ability to make the digital seem physical. His practice centres through the medium of drawing, video, printmaking, and XR (Extended Reality), as crucial tools of decoloniality.  

“I am challenging the Western art master narrative that allows artists to use assistants and technicians to create an artwork, and then release it as their own. Where does one draw the line? Is there a line?” asks de Oliveira. In a world where AI and XR has become valid and acceptable tools, this is an important question.

De Oliveira is also a founding member of the Magolide Collective, formed in 2019 with his artistic partner Mzoxolo ‘X’ Mayongo. Together they create artworks that incorporate performance, digital and traditional media to challenge the power structures and relationships of master narratives through a decolonial lens and satire.