Since 1993, he has been living in Benoni surrounded by the mine dumps of Johannesburg's East Rand. In his series of hand-printed lithographs, Interiors, he depicts interiors from "all facets of our society, from the informal settlements to the established suburbs and urban life". Unlike many of his earlier works, these images are serene and unpopulated. Personal difference can be seen in small details that furnish the brightly coloured rooms, which co-exist in tranquility beside one another. Each interior, from A Hotel in Randfontein to My Grandmother's Kitchen in the Sixties, has something unique and defining about it. Each occupies its own bit of South African space.

"My next show after Interiors was Jozi People, which was a contrast to Interiors. It was about empty space and dealing with objects and colour. It was so quiet -- perhaps even a kind of therapy -- because throughout the years all my pieces have dealt with movement of people. All my pieces are based on that. I had to cool down a bit with Interiors, but immediately after that I was drawn again to movement around the city."

TAKING ATLANTA BY STORM

For his show, that took place in Atlanta in the United States last year, Sam returned to a signature theme and lifelong passion: jazz, mixing South African greats with American jazz stars, like he did in 1994 when he won the Standard Bank Young Artists Award. The US show was big, featuring 15 paintings and 10 series of lithographs. "My subjects were a mixture of South African and American. I would do pieces about Darius Brubeck, but also about Gideon Nxumalo, Todd Matshikiza... This is how I balance my music collection. I'm not biased about just collecting South African jazz musicians. I've always been inspired and influenced by the Americans, knowing that right at home we have our own brand of jazz. To me, that's a fair balance."

ONE ARTIST, THREE CITIES

Sam recently moved into a bigger studio at the Bag Factory and is currently working hard towards a big show that will be opening simultaneously in New York, Johannesburg and (hopefully) Cape Town in February next year. "I like unusual things," says Sam enigmatically.

Over the next few months he will be spending a good chunk of his time at Mark Attwood's new print studio near White River, Mpumalanga working towards the show. "Out there, I'm in the studio from eight in the morning until the evening working in a really concentrated way," he says. "There are no distractions, so it's easier to focus."

He'll also be working on a new series of works for the Havana Biennale in November this year.

TAKING A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

"The February show is mostly about memory lane," says Sam. "I want to go back to the life of the Fifties and the Sixties and highlight some of the issues that affected people's lives then. That will be enhanced by the way the print media used to do pictures in sepia and black and white. The whole show will be in those colours, giving the work a more social documentary feel, like the Steve Biko piece I did in the past. It's going to be a serious show, but in a more retrospective way. It's about how life affected us in those years.

"All kinds of things were happening then. It could be things like the Sharpeville Shooting and the Rivonia Trial, but it could also be soccer in the townships - or weddings and schools in the townships. It's not only looking on the more serious side. Life was going on in the townships during those times. And some of the things were very inspiring. When I look at photos of uncles of mine, I'm inspired by the way they used to dress, the cars people were driving… These are things that will be coming to life on the canvas."

FARM LABOURERS: FROM NELSPRUIT TO HAVANA

"For the Havana Biennale, I'd like to pursue something I've started in a small scale: dealing with farm labourers. I started by exhibiting about four drawings at Art on Paper, but I'm going to take it further. I don't know yet what space they'll be giving me, but I'll be creating some big images of men working on the land. If I get to do an installation then I'll get the tobacco leaves in Havana. I can't take anything in legally that side, so I can get some stuff there and use it as part of my installation.

"There's a farm around Brakpan, Wadeville side. Sometimes when I go to see my sister in law, I go that route and, each time, I'd look at these farm labourers busy in the fields. One day I said to myself: I've got to give myself some time to focus on this. They first caught my eye about three or four years ago and then at the beginning of this year the time finally came and I parked my car and sat sketching them.

"It's something I want the people of South Africa to see, so it's not going to only happen in Cuba. There will definitely be a show that will come to this country."

TELLING A HUMAN STORY

"I also had the idea of going to the coal sheds and doing sketches about the men who work there, delivering coal to people in the townships. Why farm workers? Why miners? These are the people who feed us the vegetables we eat, who dig the gold that is the wealth of our country. It's an attempt to bring a picture of these people close to the eyes of the society. It's our job as artists. Just like journalists, we must bring stories to the public. To make the big picture of what's going on in South Africa a human story. To humanise it."