Tony Gum

b. 1995 in Cape Town, South Africa.

Lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa.

BIOGRAPHY

Tony Gum is a young and energetic South African artist working within the medium of photography, who has recently graduated from Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town.

Dubbed by Vogue International as the 'Coolest Girl in Cape Town', Gum blends photography, digital film, and graphic design with more traditional methods like painting, sculpture and still life compositions. Wearing the hat of creative director on the sets of shoots most of which inform her iconic contemporary portraiture pieces, she masterfully captures and brings to life the range of poignant yet subtle realities of our shared human experience and through the prism of her culture, and archetype: a woman of South African Xhosa heritage, Tony’s art captures life stories interpreted in the most unexpected yet refreshing way.

Establishing her artistic voice by drawing on pervasive signifiers and brand iconography in her seminal works which includes; Black Cola, Free Da Gum, Indian Lady, iSnap, uTwiggy and the Milked in Africa series, her previous works helped set a unique visual tone of inquiry now synonymous with the Tony Gum ‘brand’.

Tony Gum is an avid social commentator and through art gives voice to key local and global issues; gender, colonialism, globalization, and identity. She represents free thinkers of the 21st century, recognizing both the influence and responsibility of artists in the world. Seamlessly weaving together artistic genres like, photography, film, painting, sculpture and narrative her work is innovative yet timeliness.

Gum’s distinctive style and youthful effervescence has contributed to growing global interest in artists from South Africa. Her dynamic appetite for storytelling creates accessibility across constructs of; class, culture, race and gender.