Publisher's Description
Koto Bolofo presents
SIBUSISO MBHELE
And His Fish Helicopter
Introduction by William Sloan
Hardcover, 11 x 14.25 inches, 186 pages, 120 photographs
SIBUSISO MBHELE AND His Fish Helicopter is a cinematic look
at the life and work of a visionary South African outsider
artist who Sparked the jealousy, wrath, and ultimate rejection of his own community with his wondrous creations of
Scrap metal flying machines. Based on his eponymous film
originally Screened in 2000 at the Museum of Modern Art,
New York, Koto Bolofo's first monograph documents a
young talented South African sculptor forced to flee his
rural home-a full-sized, hand-built metal facsimile of a helicopter that created an odd Sight against a background of
traditional thatched huts in his African village. Self-taught,
Mbhele earned his living creating Scrap metal sculptures of
planes, cars, and bicycles from wire, car wrecks, oil tin
drums, and other recycled materials. After making the headlines of the local newspapers, Mbhele's neighbors, jealous
of his recognition and success, destroyed his creations and
his beloved helicopter home. They had him jailed, and
though he was later released, the tension and threat of
further trouble was enough to make Mbhele take flight from
his precious helicopter haven and head for the Security of
the city and the unknown.
Koto Bolofo was born in South Africa and until 1992 lived
in exile in Europe as a political refugee. A top fashion and
commercial photographer, Bolofo's portrait work has
appeared in Esquire, The New York Times Magazine,
Interview, GQ, Vogue, and Marie Claire, among others. In
addition to 'Sibusiso Mbhele and His Fish Helicopter,'
Bolofo has written, produced, and directed four other films
shown at international film festivals over the past decade.
He has exhibited his work in galleries in London and Paris,
as well as at the Louvre. Bolofo currently resides in France.
William Sloan is the Head of the Circulating Film and Video
Library at The Museum of Modern Art, NY.