CR300: Echoing the Unpredictability

EDITION

2025, Shortlisted

school

Market Photo Workshop, Johannesburg, South Africa

links

@ka_bo_khaya ↗

My work is a deeply personal exploration of living with epilepsy—a condition I have carried for over 14 years. Through my practice, I aim to understand and confront the emotional and physical toll this chronic illness has on the body and mind. My art is not just a reflection of my journey, but also a means of survival, resilience, and expression. Using painting and photography, I recreate the sensations and disruptions that epilepsy brings. The images collide and shift, echoing the unpredictability of seizures. The works are not structured or orderly—they are guided by instinct, caution, and limitation. Some are shaped by what I am physically able to do, others by the tremors in my hands or the uncertainty of my next move. Photography serves as the foundation of my practice, while painting becomes a necessary interruption—symbolic of the seizures that interrupt my life. Each piece is layered, worked over again and again, in the same relentless way the condition returns. The brain scans in the work are reminders of constant medical testing. The presence of churches hints at the different paths—spiritual and physical—I’ve explored in search of healing. I want these works to do more than tell my story. I hope they resonate with others navigating chronic conditions, giving space to shared experiences that are often unseen or misunderstood. This is not a negotiation—the dice often feel loaded against us. Yet in creating this work, I’ve found a form of release, and maybe even a kind of power.