Untitled, oil on canvas, 2010

Zander lives and works from his home in the beat up suburb of Brixton in Johannesburg. His studio resembles a soiled hamster cage. The floors are piled 20cm up with pages from magazines and other clippings, bound together by old tubes of paint. The walls are covered with scribbles and doodles on A1 sheets of paper. He is good at keeping busy. Zander spent much of the last few years fighting the art world through his art. It pissed a lot of people off, but art fags don’t fight very well, so he has emerged unscathed and better than ever. His paintings are selling quicker than tik in the eastern cape so he well on his way to conquering the globe.

Zander takes his art so seriously that he recently started an experimental rock band to keep his life recreational. His band, called Jaco and Z-dog, sings songs about having R5000 credit at the Woolworths and Googling yourself. They also claim to be the shittiest band in the country. Zander says the whole experience is different with live music because the audience gets involved. He enjoys the fear of knowing that at any moment someone in the crowd could throw a bottle at him.

A year ago Zander published a short story alongside a series of photos titled “The Travels Of Bad”. The story is about a hero that destroys everything mundane about the modern world while rocking out shredding guitar solos. It is sweet.

HENK LUSTIG