A technical survey of Lucky Madlo Sibiya’s (1942 – 1999) materials and techniques employed in his carved and painted wood panel artworks

Abstract

The study aims to achieve an understanding of the artist’s materials and techniques used by Lucky Madlo Sibiya when he created his carved and painted wood panel artworks. A survey of the artist’s materials and techniques is of great importance, because he is represented in multiple institutional, corporate and private collections – including the University of Pretoria. His carved and painted wood panel artworks are also reaching an age (at least 20 years old, as 2019 is the twentieth anniversary of his death) when they would soon require conservation and restoration, if not stored and displayed according to sound conservation conditions and standards. For best-practice conservation and restoration, in-depth knowledge of the materiality of an artwork is needed. In order to reach an in-depth knowledge of the materiality of Sibiya’s carved and painted wood panel artworks, the survey intends to examine and document through the combination of various historical, visual and analytical techniques artworks with unrefuted provenance. The analytical techniques used are popular in heritage conservation, because they are non-invasive and non-destructive. They include provenance studies, visual examination, technical photography, X-ray Fluorescence and Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy. In combination, the techniques should reveal the materials and techniques Sibiya employed. This knowledge will be used to safeguard and preserve this part of South African art heritage.