“Don’t hold the paper like that,” Layziehound Coka tells his landlord, David Mayers, who has come to collect rent in the form of art. Leafing through a pile of Coka’s work, Mayers — who has recently purchased August House, an artist’s residency in Doornfontein, Johannesburg, where Coka and other artists have studios and/or living space — swiftly adjusts his grip on the artist’s work.

“When you hold art, you have to pinch the opposite corners of each side, like you’re holding a cigarette. Otherwise you’ll break the fibre of the paper,” the gangly artist tells the young property developer, who is giving me a tour of the relaunched August House.

The building was renowned for once having hosted the city’s artistic elite, although few of the artists were faring well financially. Amid a sea of half-used paint tubes and layers of sketches on paper and canvas, KwaZulu-Natal- born Coka finds his “rent” and carefully lays out two cubist-style renditions of jazz musicians for Mayers.

Walking me around the shiplike structure, as construction workers put the final touches to the building before more artists move in, Mayers talks passionately about art and his intention to restore the Art Deco building to its former glory. Weeks later, at the start of spring, the building is alive with movement and banter, and a ripe scent of sage wafts through the second floor. There has been a rush of artists into the space over the past month and Layzie, as his peers call him, is creating art in his studio.

“If you can’t afford to pay rent, artists give two of their paintings. But I haven’t had to do that since my first month in August House in June,” says Coka in his wise-beyond-his-years way about going from being cash-strapped to showing his work at art fairs and making enough money to pay rent.  “I wasn’t earning any money at the time I moved in. So as per the contract, we had an agreement that they’d take two works a month. I wasn’t very comfortable with it but beggars can’t be choosers.

I think the contract was fair seeing that the landlords hadn’t seen my work out there and I’m not established, but they were able to trust that my standard of work is good.” Unlike my first visit to August House in August, this time there’s a stream of artists flowing in and out of Coka’s studio. A paint-stained, gold-toothed Samson Mnisi — celebrated for his minimalist metallic paintings who has a studio across the way — makes an appearance, and so does his work.  Fellow resident Senzo Shabangu’s brightly coloured painting hangs on Coka’s studio wall, it’s curved lines contrasting with Layzie’s angular constructions.

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https://mg.co.za/article/2015-09-10-august-house-the-home-of-jozis-rising-sons-and-daughters