Mbulelo Terrance Lokoto (b. 2000-) is a visual artist who is based in Cape Town. He was born in East London, Eastern Cape in South Africa. He graduated with a diploma in Fine Art at Ruth Prowse School of Art, specialising in painting. He developed a desire to paint as a child, but quickly had to abandoned this passion due to the lack of resources and external support. Almost 20 years later, Lekoto found himself sketching and repolishing his artistic skills, as a way of coping with his severe depression.

Painting reimagined scenes of his environment became his therapy. He explores foretold stories of his childhood, metaphorical expressions that were often used around him as well as investigating fictional narratives he read about and told through oral history.

In Lokoto’s work, he enables people he documents to share their stories in their own words, their own voices and through his skill, preserves these personal and significant events. Themes closer to his personal experience are the Hlubi and street pantsula culture.His figurative work explores the concept of a ‘spirit animal’, merging two different species in one frame. He often refers to his work as “magical surrealism”. His use of a warm colour palette is how he demonstrates his desire for happiness and joy, despite it being contradictory to his reality. His use of animals in his frame is a direct commentary on the characteristics, nicknames and mirroring of the people he paints.