Liberty Du, internationally known as FAITH XLVII, is a South African urban artist and a major figure in the contemporary art scene.
Considered a pioneer of graffiti, the self-taught FAITH XLVII began to make art in 1997 at the age of 16 in her home country of South Africa, at a time when women were very rare in the field.
She initially worked mainly on canvas, but she never quite left the urban art world. She created works in the outdoor space offered by the street, on street signs, doors or by expressing herself directly on walls. She favours abandoned places and makes a name for herself with the diversity of techniques in her repertoire: spray paint, ink, graphite, oil paint or collage...
Early on, FAITH XLVII demonstrated a taste for experimentation that she went on to develop from 2006 onwards: she started using different media and techniques to build up a multidisciplinary practice. Starting out as a muralist, she became a video artist, sculptor, weaver and draughtswoman. FAITH XLVII’s work now spans across many media and formats, from the monumental to the most intimate.
"Faith XLVII": if she does not claim the choice of her pseudonym with the word "Faith" as religious, the name rather reveals the leitmotiv of a deeply committed artist, carried by a faith in humanity that spreads throughout all her projects.
A true social activist marked by the extreme inequalities she has witnessed from a very young age, the artist explores numerous feminist, political, economic and social causes. Using symbolism, FAITH XLVII speaks to the complexity of the human condition, paying tribute to the oppressed, the disenfranchised, the living and the sacred nature. In her various artistic projects, a narrative unfolds in which the strength of human solidarity overcomes all challenges.
By highlighting troubling racial and gender dynamics, the artist wants her work to be an inner liberation conveying values such as humanism, spirituality and hope.
In her quest for the divine, she gives increasing prominence in her work to communion with natural wisdom, and her practice is closely linked to her personal experiences: "My artistic creation is a process of ritual, of inner transformation. It is not separate from the food I eat, from my relationships, my heartaches, my existential questions, my feelings of despair and anguish, as well as my appreciation of all living beings."
FAITH XLVII is considered a major figure in the contemporary art scene. Her work has been exhibited worldwide in Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, Tunisia, the US, Australia, Italy, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and her street creations can now be found in large cities around the world. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles.