Justice Mukheli On Telling Authentic African Stories Through Art
Justice Mukheli is a film director, photographer, and artist. Through his visual storytelling, he takes viewers through a journey of African stories that embody truth, power, and beauty. He documents everyday South African experiences through his lens which makes his art feel like home. It is evident that Justice Mukheli is rooted in his heritage as he draws inspiration from his upbringing in Soweto to enrich his work. Whether he is capturing on film or digital – his photography is full of soul, which can be seen through the eyes of his subjects. Art becomes a conduit for Mukheli to heal, breathing life into untold stories and contribute towards moving the African culture forward.
From working as an Art Director at Draft FCB to being a Commercial Director for Romance Films TV, how Justice Mukheli has constantly elevated himself through a plethora of creative mediums is truly inspiring. During our catchup in Rosebank over coffee, I learned more about his journey from advertising to art, how he achieved his tremendous success as well as his new path of being appointed the Commercial Director at one of the best production companies in the world, Romance Films TV.
1. How did growing up in Soweto inspire your vision of storytelling?
Growing up in Soweto inspired me in a lot of ways that are beyond the storyteller I thought I would become. The way we grew up and being a child at the time, Soweto was amazing. There was a freedom that kids don’t have – now that my life is this side of the world. Maybe on a weekend, I would just wake up and leave the house at 7 o’clock and go explore with my friends, come back before the sunsets. And it would be either from going to catch locust in the bush or creating our soccer field somewhere in the bush corner or playing under tunnels. We used to get under tunnels and walk. For example, we would get into a tunnel here, go through the tunnel, and get out in Bryanston. They were like a maze. There were so many activities as a kid. My childhood was amazing with memories and my parents were amazing. I was very close to my dad for the time he spent with us, close to my mum. She used to bake, we used to help her bake and knit. There was so much available to entertain me as a kid growing up in Soweto. There were these older gentlemen, friends of my uncles who dressed up incredibly beautiful and you grow up seeing that and aspiring to that. The car culture, sneaker culture, fashion culture – there was just so much.
2. What are some of the unforgettable childhood experiences you believe shaped who you are today?
When I get work or need to do or tell a story, I have a huge bank of resources and stories to borrow from, to look back into. I become excited about how I can bring those lived experiences into life, into the story I was trying to get. As a commercials director, when I get a brief most of the time, I look back there in my bank of memories. Have I experienced something like this? My latest commercial is about a funeral plan – this old man leaving his last message to his wife. So when I got briefed, it became immediately clear to me that I have experienced this. The point of view might have been different because I was a child but I can remember all those moments when my grandmother lost my grandfather and what happened and the nuance in how she was and how she dealt with the nuance of my culture and how we deal with loss. That was a huge and most incredible resource to go look into as a source of inspiration and borrow from. To breathe that experience into that piece so that it feels authentic. As a filmmaker and artist, we recreate moments and it’s in how close to reality we get. That’s my tool. It’s what I use all the time.
3. You recently joined Romance Films TV as a commercials director. How do you feel about this new path?
I am beyond excited about it. I wrote on my Instagram post that I have been inspired by Romance Films TV before I even thought that I would be a filmmaker. From 2009, when I got into advertising, I remember they would say to us when you write your advert you must write it for Grey Gray to take your script, to even consider shooting your ads for you. Grey Gray is a founding partner for Romance Films TV. He is incredible. He is an incredible storyteller. We used to write these ads and send them to their company. We would cross fingers that he considers our script. Unfortunately, when I was still in advertising I never got to work with him. Maybe our scripts were not good enough. It is exciting that the loop closed. I am excited to learn from them. There is Terence Neale who is incredible, he works mostly internationally. His ads are breathtaking, such as the ad he did for Beats by Dre. I have known them and had a friendship with them for a long time. It feels right to have joined them now because I have gained my own experience. I have scrabbled, built myself and built my confidence. I have proved that I can be a filmmaker. Now it’s amazing that I am part of a team that I have reached to be a part of for the longest time.
4. From working as an Art Director to being a Commercial Director, how did you navigate the transition from advertising to art and how did you own that space?
The transition was relatively easy. And I say this because advertising is an incredible teacher. Marketing teaches you how business works, positioning, and what you need to do to get a product to a certain target audience. I saw myself as a product when I started my journey as a photographer. Like okay cool, I’m a photographer. How do I get myself seen by those I want to book me? I had to build a portfolio using knowledge from advertising. I was in advertising for 7 years before I transitioned. My understanding of the industry helped my transition work seamlessly because I knew what to do. I knew the power of a portfolio, I knew how to get myself in front of the target audience that I need to book me. Owning the space was putting in the work and understanding what is needed to get myself to a position where I am considered or seen as someone interesting in my field or someone who has a different point of view or a different way of doing things. That is part of owning the space and creating work that is unapologetically my voice. And in the same vain, answering the client’s brief and aligning the brand with its target audience. And aligning the brand where marketers intend to get to. I make sure that my work is an extension of what my clients need. As a film director, I am a part of the chain.
Your voice is your own lived experience. For example, when I got briefed on Hollard, there were 2 other directors. There were 3 of us. It’s always important that I borrow from my lived experiences because it will be a unique point of view, a unique point of departure. After all, all the other directors will also come from their point of view, understanding, or lived experiences. That’s how they work and when I present my treatment it will unapologetically be me. It will have my voice, tone, and feels. With Hollard, the way I saw and experienced my grandmother grieve for my grandfather is unique to me. So I reconstructed and rebuilt that world from how I saw it.
5. In terms of your photography, what qualities must a subject have for it to be captivating enough for you to capture it?
For me, it’s not about aesthetic qualities, it’s about the feeling I get from the eyes. It’s not an aesthetic thing. It’s mostly eyes and the feeling that I am trying to capture. My creative process is led by feeling rather than an idea. The idea is secondary to me. For me, the important thing is how does it make me feel. I have always felt that advertising teaches us that “idea is king” and I agree. But for me, the feeling is more important than an idea because you can get an idea but it doesn’t move you. The feeling is more important to me. Sometimes I use to gravitate towards kids a lot because it was a process for me to unpack my other lived experiences - emotions I never got to deal with acknowledge or immerse myself in. Sometimes when we go through what we go through, we are not present enough to go through the emotions of it and deal with it. Photography and film have become a tool I use as therapy for myself. I can tap back into a moment that is important to me and I deal with it, and I can capture that feeling.
6. In your tremendous career, which would you say are your favorite works that you have produced and why?
I love the Ingrams advert and the Hollard advert. There is an advert I have created for South African Tourism, it has a slightly different tone than the ads I am creating now. It was about portraying black people experiencing their land on these spaces that are mostly enjoyed by white people but enjoying them their way. I quite like the advert.
7. The advertising industry in South Africa has transformed in terms of how black culture is represented, however so much work still needs to be done to move the culture forward. What do you think agencies can do better in this space?
Agencies still fall into the mistake of not being mindful of black stories by black people, or at least having black collaborators in the chain of those stories being told. I think the industry very quickly falls into thinking that “ALL LIVES MATTER” type of mentality, that creative is creative. “What makes you think that just because I am a white person I won’t be able to tell a story in a sensitive way?”. I don’t think that’s the conversation. I think the conversation is telling the story most authentically and mindfully. I think advertising needs to create space for black narratives to be inclusive of black people from the process of creating it.
8. If you ever feel a creative block during a project, how do you reconnect and channel your energy?
I have a lot of creative resources and creative outlets. If my photography is struggling, I am going to paint. Now, I have decided that I want to paint again because I am not so inspired photographically. I am going to start to paint more. If directing or my other outlets are struggling, I can make music or I can sculpt, or I can write. I have a lot of outlets.
9. Which creative materials inspired you on your overall journey? It could be a film, book, exhibition, documentary, or anything?
It was a book by Malcolm Gladwell called Outliers. It speaks of the 10 000 hours rule and it touches on the people who are amazing that we love and follow. The people who inspire us decided to put in the work, it didn’t happen by chance. That book taught me that whatever I want to be, I can be. I can make that happen, no one else. And it can never happen by mistake.
10. Which brands and artists would you like to collaborate with in the future?
I would love to work with Netflix. And in terms of artists, there is an artist I like called Sibusile Xaba. He’s really amazing. That’s who I would love to collaborate with.
11. And lastly, which words of advice would you give to young artists who aspire to manifest their dreams in this multifaceted creative industry?
My last words would be what I just said about what I got from the book, Outliers – what you want to be, only you can make happen. Great people are not just great by mistake. It just doesn’t happen to them. It was a choice. If you want to be amazing at something, you need to decide to be. It’s a process, it won’t happen overnight.
