Mncedi Madolo lives and works in Johannesburg. In 2014 he obtained a National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Walter Sisulu University majoring in painting and in 2017 he moved to Johannesburg where he embarked on a career as a full-time artist. Living in the city brought him closer to the realities of urban life. Madolo found himself surrounded by people making a living within the constraints of a lower middle-class existence. At the same time he also noticed the severity of the onslaught by print and advertising media selling a dream to these people. This presented interesting paradoxes and he started implementing elements of this in his work. Magazine covers celebrating “black is beautiful” and flyers advertising fast solutions to personal problems are presented with cartoon sketches mocking the status quo while familiar brands loom in the background. Many of the materials and images used in the paintings are collected from the street and present itself as a complex layering of stories. Madolo is also a skillful illustrator who freelances as a cartoon artist for major national newspapers.