Treasure Mlima (b. 1999) is a South African artist born in Durban whose work explores identity, mental health and the complexities of contemporary African experience. After studying visual arts at school, he developed his practice largely through independent research and experimentation. His approach reflects a generation shaped by the internet, drawing on a wide range of images and cultural references while questioning expectations about what African art should represent. Artist background

Working across digital collage, woodcarving, painting and printmaking, Mlima combines the familiar imagery of Pop Art with the unexpected transformations of Surrealism. His process often begins with found images, which he digitally manipulates before translating them into carved and painted surfaces. His exhibition history includes The Search for a Face at Gordon Gallery in 2023. In 2024, he was named a finalist for the Cassirer Welz Award, which supports emerging artistic talent in southern Africa and beyond. Gordon Gallery exhibition, Award announcement

In Extensions of a Fragmented Man, presented at Serge Tiroche Contemporary in 2024, Mlima examines masculinity through the physical and emotional fragmentation of the body. His figures stretch, dissolve and develop unexpected organic extensions, giving visible form to the tension between social expectations and inner experience. Hollow bodies suggest feelings of disconnection, while contrasting textures evoke the struggle to maintain a coherent sense of identity. Bold lines and vibrant colours draw viewers into these unsettled spaces, leaving room for their own interpretations. Exhibition overview

At the heart of the series is a compassionate examination of the pressure placed on men to appear strong while concealing vulnerability. Mlima presents identity as something continually reshaped by experience. His fragmented figures invite reflection on emotional openness, the possibility of rebuilding oneself and the place of vulnerability within a fuller understanding of masculinity.