CILO Mdakane believes if art is not in your heart, then it does not matter!
The 40-year-old from Sharpeville, Vaal said art had been a part of his family for many years and he was named after his late uncle, who was an artist.
Cilo started his journey with art at school, when he started making wire cars. He went on to study fine arts at the Vaal University of Technology.
In 2012, he was one of a few artists sponsored by the South African Wire Association on a trip abroad. He showed his work in Dusseldorf, Germany, as well as in New Delhi, India.
“Art is in my blood,” he said. “If it wasn’t in my blood, I would have stopped doing it long ago.
“There are many people I was at varsity with who no longer make art. I bumped into one of my old classmates and he told me he burnt his portfolio and joined the army.
“But if it’s in you, it is like a calling and you can’t run away from it.”
Cilo uses wire and beads for his artwork.
He says he used to paint in oils but people were too critical of his paintings.
He chose wire and beads because people decorate their homes with his products.
