Born in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1997, Cinthia Binene Sifa currently lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she’s completing her third year at the Artist Proof Studio.
Sifa expresses her art through a series of representations of exploration around the perception and misconception of beauty: using different mediums – acrylic paint, ink, collage from personal photographs, and magazines – Sifa creates interior spaces, which are dialogues between standards and stereotypes of beauty.
Sifa stated: “My work explores beauty constructs through my lived experience as an African woman and those around me. I create moments within domestic spaces by using different mediums like acrylic with oil paint, charcoal, ink, collage from personal photographs and magazines. Female silhouettes represent the “perfect women ” perceived by society through social media. The moments I create in domestic spaces are dialogues between perceived beauty standards and stereotypes which function to both challenge and embrace African women. The Barbie doll, a primary inspiration in my work, is used with other feminine objects or symbols with associations to African women, representing thoughts, misconceptions, perceptions, and emotions. These spaces allow me to create conversations and interrogate notions of beauty.”