‘Khanja’ Lenka Cronje

LENKA CRONJE aka KHANJA

“My name is Lenka, and I am contrast. I am quiet, with a lot to say. I want to create moving images using still lines. I mostly speak without using words as I prefer to speak through the lines of my pen. I aspire to grow old while continuously growing more childlike. I believe wisdom lies in simplicity. I always plan ahead while trying to live spontaneously. I am easily captivated by the smaller things in life, while at the same time in search of the bigger picture. I admire intricacy, but feel liberated by simplicity. I am determined and strong, yet sensitive and cautious. I am wonderfully and fearfully made.

I believe more in ‘could’, less in ‘should’.

I feel at home with the trees and mountains in bigger-picture creation. My honest desire is to sit between and beneath these natural giants while filling blank pages with tiny little lines.

I finished my degree in Visual Communication Design at Stellenbosch University in 2012 and started work as a Graphic Designer, with a heart’s desire is to work with pen illustration as my primary crafting tool. A visual voice that communicates through Graphic Design and Hand-illustration. In January 2016 I started Khanja as a means to combine my qualification, experience and passion for intricate hand crafted visuals.

Khanja (originally spelled ‘Khanya’) is a South African name from the Xhosa language, it means ‘Enlightenment’. In Zulu it means ‘to shine’.”

With strong empathy and inspired by her own observations, Lenka created this edition of everyday scenes at the Matchbox daycare center INJONGO. Her reduced drawings express strong values through light gestures. She produced 30 ink drawings on paper, 21 × 30 cm.