MERCY THOKOZANE MINAH RE-PRESENTS: A freedom too strange to conquer 

Mercy Thokozane Minah is a queer, non-binary multi-disciplinary artist. They live in South Africa and have created work across visual, literary and performance-related mediums. Their short stories have appeared in anthologies such as the Lambda-award-winning Queer Africa: New and Collected Fiction, Outside the XY: Black and Brown Queer Masculinities, Exhale: Queer African Erotic Fiction and the AZE Journal: Asexuality Zine. They self-published an anthology of South African based horror stories titled, 4. They have written non-fiction for Writing the Walls Down and Brain Mill Press. They are currently studying toward a degree in Theatre and Performance at the University of the Witwatersrand where they plan to stage a play written by them titled Imigqomo Yase Gomorrah. Mercy has also created 8 series of original digital oil paintings, namely Regular (featuring the sub-series Partnered and Solo), Black Sofa, Together, Flower Bois, Room 204, Eaters, Heat, and Queer Festive Season.  

They have also created adaptative series based on the Beyoncé Knowles-Carter musical, Black is King and 2020’s iteration of Blacktober. Mercy’s digital oil paintings have been commissioned for promotional purposes by the Exist Loudly campaign, as well as Reclaiming Ugly’s Black Healing October. 

Regarding the purpose of their work Mercy states:

"I have a very simple purpose for the things I make: studying and conveying the intricacies of Black, Queer and Trans intimacies. I believe where we rest in our most intimate moments, whether these are moments of interpersonal dysfunction or tenderness, is deeply sacred. And storytelling through art offers ample opportunity to venerate that sacred space. Art also allows us the room to cultivate affirmation and perhaps sometimes even healing for the ways we navigate intimacy. My work seeks to explore these avenues of veneration, affirmation, and the facilitation of prospective healing as expansively as possible." 

Connect and visit Mercy's online platforms below: 

Website: mercythokozaneminah.yolasite.com

Instagram: iamafreedom