South African multidisciplinary artist Baba Tjeko explores cultural memory and identity through bold, meticulously composed works. Combining traditional and digital techniques, his compositions span geometric abstraction, figuration, expressionism, and the surreal. Working across printmaking, drawing, graphic design, painting, and illustration, Tjeko engages in dialogue with Basotho visual traditions and Eurocentric aesthetics, examining how heritage shapes contemporary Black identity. His monochromatic portraits evoke personal and communal memory, reflecting values of simplicity, kindness, love, and community in a digitally mediated society. Tjeko’s work merges heritage with contemporary expression, producing complex, collage-like compositions that interrogate the intersections of tradition, modernity, and identity. In 2025, Tjeko presented new works in an Artist Room at SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa; with a group presentation at Art Basel Miami (SMAC), Miami, USA.

Born in Vredefort, South Africa, in 1985, Tjeko grew up in Parys, South Africa, where he currently lives and works. He graduated from the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA) with a National Diploma in Creative Multimedia, majoring in Advertising Design, and later worked as a graphic designer in both the private and public sectors. Notable collaborations include MINI for the release of the African Limited Edition Clubman and Nespresso on their World Explorations campaign. Tjeko now devotes himself to his fine arts practice. 

Selected group exhibitions include: Art Basel Hong Kong (SMAC), Wan Chai, Hong Kong; Investec Cape Town Art Fair (SMAC), Cape Town, South Africa, both in 2026; Investec Cape Town Art Fair (SMAC), Cape Town, South Africa in 2025; with his work featured at the Heat Festival (2025); Hold that Thought, Kalashnikovv Art Gallery & Latitudes Centre for the Arts collaboration, Johannesburg, South Africa and The Un-turning Wheel, 99 Loop Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa both in 2024; Loud and Clear, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa in 2023; RMB Latitudes Art Fair (SMAC), Johannesburg, South Africa (2023); Endangered Species, Kalashnikovv Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa in 2022.

Tjeko collaborated with Nedbank International Polo in 2022 on their New Mobility Activation. Other notable collaborations include; Stella Artois Africa’s Pure Malt Installation in Durban, South Africa and Nespresso’s World Explorations Campaign in Cape Town, South Africa both in 2021; Stella Artois Africa’s Social Distancing Campaign in Johannesburg, South Africa; MINI Cooper’s Modern African Gentleman Campaign in Johannesburg, South Africa and Channel O’s Music over Everything Campaign in Johannesburg, South Africa.