Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi was raised by her grandmother who was a traditional mural painter. She spent much of her young adult life as a domestic worker in Johannesburg. When her employer started painting, Sebidi expressed an interest in painting herself and was given her first set of oil paints. She went on to train with John Keonakeefe Mohl (1903–85) before studying at the Katlehong Arts Centre. Sebidi has since won many honours for her work, including becoming the first black woman to win the Standard Bank Young Artist award in 1989. Working predominantly in pastel, acrylic and oil paint meticulously applied in distinctive short strokes, Sebidi’s works feature abstracted human and animal forms rendered in vibrant colour. Her subjects are rooted in African mythology and traditional value systems, reflecting her experience of rural and urban life as a Black woman in South Africa, and of life during apartheid.