Volume One · Episode 6 · A Conversation

Kabelo Matsile

Photographer · Johannesburg, South Africa

Recorded 10 April 2026

@3rdwurldvzn ↗
Kabelo Matsile seated on a stool in soft natural light, laughing, with a palm and window behind him
Photographed in the studio · April 2026
An Introduction

Kabelo Matsile, known professionally as 3RDWURLDVZN, is a multidisciplinary visual artist and emerging photographer from Noordwyk, Midrand, now based in the heart of Johannesburg's central business district. His practice moves between sketching, painting, and photography, threaded by a cinematic way of seeing built up since childhood through cartoons, anime, and early 2000s MTV culture. He draws on a wide field of reference, from Kanye West and Virgil Abloh to Basquiat and the Renaissance masters, and keeps a sharp eye on the intersection of art and politics. The work fuses conceptual imagery, cultural commentary, and street-informed style.

The Conversation

In Three Parts

Recent Photography

Selected Works

Courtesy of the artist.

Photograph by Kabelo Matsile — double portrait against a cowhide print backdrop, one figure in a knit vest and tie, the other in a cap and white shirt
Photograph by Kabelo Matsile — figure leaning on a low wall on a Johannesburg rooftop, city skyline rising behind them
Photograph by Kabelo Matsile — figure crouching beside a red minibus taxi on a Johannesburg street
Photograph by Kabelo Matsile — portrait of an artist in a studio, seated beside a large expressive painted face on canvas
The Interview Record

Filed in the Archive

Kabelo Matsile's handwritten interview record card with polaroids
Volume One · Episode 6 · Filed 10 April 2026
End of Feature · Episode 6

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