Zethu Maseko is a London-based multidisciplinary artist whose work spans weaving, tufting, textiles, sound and installation. Her practice explores water as an archive of lived experience, ancestral knowledge and memory—drawing on her Southern African heritage, environmental motifs and processes of repair and storytelling.
2023
2022
2021
2020
2022
2024
2024
Working in large-scale tapestries and wall hangings, Maseko uses natural dyes, recycled fabrics and symbolic forms, creating slow, tactile works that fold together myth, womanhood and migration. Her material approach is rooted in traditional craft while also pushing into experimental sound and textile practices.
As a socially engaged artist, Zethu facilitates community workshops and experiments in textile-sound practice—inviting participants to weave, listen, and reflect on interconnectedness. Her work has been recognised through selection for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2020 at the South London Gallery, support from Arts Council England, and residencies in Cornwall, Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Highlights
Exhibitions
2025 Mirroring Dialogues, Curated by Ronan Mackenzie, London
2025 Mythic Thread, Royal Overseas League, London (Group Show)
2025 Youth Unlocked, Unlocked, London (Group Show)
2024 Homage: Buyela Ekhaya, 16 on Leretholi Gallery, Johannesburg (Solo Show)
2024 Zuggans (Short Film), screened at the V&A for African Fashion Takeover
2023 Shoreditch Art Club, Ongoing Exhibition in Club Collection
2023 Rame Projects, Residency Presentation, Cornwall
2023 Roots Intertwined, Outdoor Installation, WeArePrimary, Nottingham (Solo Show)
2022 Into the Wild, Chisenhale Gallery
2022 HOME, Ronan Mckenzie Gallery, London (Anniversary Exhibition)
2022 Landedness, Solo Show, WeArePrimary, Nottingham
2021 Of Water and Womb, Solo Show, 303 Projects, Lowestoft
2021 In Reality, These Things Need to Be Said, Backlit Gallery, Nottingham (Talk and Exhibition)
2021 New Contemporaries, South London Gallery
2021 New Writing, New Contemporaries Online Exhibition
2021 Alberta Whittle Collaboration, Art Night London
2021 Afro Safety Net (Art Film), ICA London (Screening)
2019–2018 Deptford X, Group Show, Deptford
2019–2018 Deptford Cinema, Screening (Short Film)
Residencies
2025 Casa Lollo Residency with Ronan Mackenzie, Italy
2022–2023 Rame Projects, Cornwall
2021 The Workshop, Cape Town
2018 POPArt, Johannesburg