Some career milestones arrive as sudden announcements. Others reveal a journey that has been taking shape quietly, one deliberate step at a time.
When the Atlanta Art Fair shared its first look at Daisha Board Gallery’s 2026 presentation, the featured image was an evocative piece by contemporary South African artist Lloyd Maluleke. At the centre of this announcement stood FOOTSTEPS, “Like Father Like Son”—a monumental work that feels deeply personal, culturally resonant, and perfectly fitting for the current momentum of his career.
In the composition, a solitary figure steps forward in profile, a yellow hard hat resting on his head and a spade held firmly in hand. In his other hand, he carries the iconic, red-and-pink plaid woven bag, famously and colloquially known across Southern Africa as a “Machangani bag”.
Though historically loaded with derogatory undertones aimed at Tsonga migrant workers, the term and the bag itself have been reclaimed with fierce cultural pride. For Maluleke, a Tsonga artist whose entire practice is built on paying homage to the unsung, everyday heroes of his community, this detail is far more than a pragmatic accessory. It is an assertion of dignity, resilience, and lived experience—an unapologetic declaration of “Tsonga to the world.”
One foot is lifted. The figure carries the physical tools of manual labour alongside the heavy weight of lineage. The journey is still in motion.
Expanding the Boundaries of Mixed Media Printmaking
FOOTSTEPS, “Like Father Like Son” invites us to consider what passes between generations. The title suggests both physical resemblance and profound inheritance: the labour, responsibility, sacrifice, and foundational knowledge that travel from parent to child. The worker does not appear diminished by his burdens; instead, he is given scale, presence, and monumental authority.
Through a sophisticated approach to mixed media printmaking, Maluleke brings different visual and material languages into conversation. By layering intricate relief linocut printing with raw, textured handmade paper, painted colour, and vibrant textile appliqué, he forces established printmaking techniques to meet something entirely new.
The humble spade becomes a wand of construction; the woven plastic bag becomes a sacred archive of mobility. The work remains deeply rooted in traditional discipline while boldly refusing to be confined by standard boundaries.
The Dallas Residency: Artists as Archivists
Maluleke’s journey to the United States did not begin the moment he boarded a plane. The opportunity first emerged through the Indibano Art Residency in 2020, though he would only travel to Dallas in 2025. What might appear from the outside as an overnight international breakthrough was actually preceded by years of waiting, working, and continuing to believe in an opportunity whose timing remained uncertain.
When he finally arrived in Texas, he entered an unfamiliar art environment with the freedom to encounter his practice differently. Immersed in a supportive creative community, one realization profoundly shifted his approach: artists are the archivists of their time.
Maluleke recognised that his role extends beyond creating aesthetic objects. Artists preserve how ordinary people lived, worked, struggled, and celebrated. For an artist whose work already celebrates everyday Tsonga identity and working-class reality, this was a deeper acknowledgement of the responsibility already inherent in his practice.
Building Bridges: Daisha Board Gallery
The residency also introduced him to a creative culture built around visible support, where artistic careers are understood to be collective efforts. Maluleke saw firsthand what happens when networks of artists, galleries, and collectors actively advocate for one another.
Among the relationships that continued beyond the residency was his connection with Daisha Board Gallery. This partnership has developed through a sequence of meaningful encounters rather than a single transaction, continually creating space for Maluleke’s practice within its programme.
A particularly affirming moment occurred when Joy Joy I found a new home with a collector in Dallas. The acquisition mattered beyond the sale itself. It proved that the deep cultural specificity of Maluleke’s art does not limit its ability to connect across distances. A work created from his own memories, local visual symbols, and community homages could enter a home thousands of kilometres away and spark a profound emotional connection.
Atlanta and the Work Ahead
From 1–4 October 2026, Daisha Board Gallery will make its Atlanta Art Fair debut at Pullman Yards with a curated presentation exploring Black life, identity, and belonging across the diaspora. By featuring FOOTSTEPS, the gallery places Maluleke’s practice within a vital, living international dialogue.
Yet, the art fair should not be viewed as the conclusion of the journey. Atlanta is merely another important step.
Empowered by a renewed “fire in his belly,” Maluleke is pushing his practice further. The challenge now is to turn this international momentum into a sustained body of work, allowing printmaking to converse more freely with painting, textiles, and larger installations. He is proving that an artist does not have to dilute their specificity or detach from their heritage to command an international stage.
The footsteps are visible now. The next ones are actively being made.
Featured artwork: Lloyd Maluleke, FOOTSTEPS, “Like Father Like Son” (2025), linocut, acrylic, handmade paper and fabric.
