Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8 ARTS CAPE TIMES MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2010
UN- MUTE MY TONGUE.Pai nt i ngs by AYANDA MABUL Uat Worl dart unt i l t oday. LUCI NDA JOLLY revi ews
TOWARDS the end of last monthmembers of the media, public andconcerned organisations walkedtheir talk by marching to Parlia-ment in protest at the Protection ofInformation Act or, as it’s more sin-isterly known, the secrecy bill.
In a Mail & Guardian article byHennie van Vuuren and PhelisaNkomo, Nigerian Nobel laureatewriter and activist Wole Soyinka isquoted as referring to the bill ascontributing to a “climate of fear”where “caution and calculationreplace a norm of spontaneity orroutine. Often, normal speech isreduced to a whisper, even withinthe intimacy of the home.”
It’s against this oppressive back-ground that Ayanda Mabulu’s satir-ical work gains dimension. Onewonders what it may mean to suchwork if the bill is passed.
Then, again, Mabulu is nostranger to controversy. In May, hissatirical works – which includedcontroversial ideas, comparing“Eugene Terre’Blanche with pigsand (making) a mockery ofapartheid icons like the old SouthAfrican flag” – were rejected byTruworths as being “too political”for the foyer, a public place.
I met Mabulu at the Worldartgallery. The gallery has a large glassfront and as we spoke a continuousstream of passers-by stopped, fasci-nated by his paintings.
Response like this is everyartist’s dream, but Mabulu takes itin his stride. For this warm, dread-locked, modern-day paint brush-wielding prophet has a mission.
His work may be controversial,but not in an attention-seeking way.
His concerns are about the peo-ple in townships, the hypocrisy ofSouth African leaders and “how itpains” him. He will not stop paint-ing until his people, “who live ins**t, are no longer suffering anddemocracy is replaced by freedom”.
Think the deeply religiousHieronymus Bosch, who painted his
disgust at his people’s superstitionand the churches’ hypocrisy, usingalchemical symbols, or Breughel’sproverbs and Goya’s etchings. Theapproach is not modern.
But, then, nor is Mabulu. His
speech is peppered with proverbslike “they say knowledge is power,but not every writer is right”.
The title Un-Mute My Tongue isfrom Mubulu’s belief that “silenttongues have more wisdom”.
As to how he came to exhibit, hesays: “The dove does look for food,but the food finds the dove.”
In need of an income, he wasselling canvases at the V&A Water-front and met up with gallery owner
Charl Bezuidenhoudt when a manoffered a paltry R50 for a painting.He has been in residency since.
Originally an “Eastern Capeboy”, he landed up here in search ofhis mother, whom he refers to as a
“rolling stone”. He hoped to studyscience, but had to drop out becauseof a lack of funding.
How did he come to paint in thismanner? “I got tired of paintingboys on bicycles.” His visuals drawon the approaches of Salvador Daliand Frida Khalo. His heroes areSteve Biko and Credo Mutwa.
He gets his ideas from watchingTV and reading, in particularFrantz Fanon. His ideas are “spiritideas that arise from what iswithin”, and he “looks at hispeople”.
All the work has a rich satiricalnarrative. In Ngconco IhlwempuKunesibhanxo Sesityebi (Better PoorThan A Rich Puppet), he shows keyinternational and national figuresacting out or being acted on arounda dining table. We know them all.
Among them, previous presidentGeorge W Bush is garotting an age-ing Nelson Mandela, RobertMugabe is concentrating on drivinga nail into his nose with a hammerand PW Botha is pointing thatfamiliar stubby finger. US PresidentBarack Obama is ironing histongue, which Mabulu connects tothe idiom of restructuring yourtongue.
He has portrayed PresidentJacob Zuma, wearing a part-wolf,part-sheep headdress, as the angelGabriel with a prosthetic arm withwhich he pierces his chest with anarrow. He is shown naked, as isAnglican Archbishop EmeritusDesmond Tutu.
Mabulu has been questioned bypeople about this. To paint eldersin such a fashion is consideredextremely disrespectful andinsulting.
He says this is not a personalattack against Tutu, for he respectshim as a father figure, but moreagainst the church. He rejects thecriticism as not being relevant tohis generation. “It’s time forchange,” he says.
Mabulu has a fearless, powerfulway of seeing South African society.He has the ability to present it in away that may shock you, and willdefinitely make you laugh and crywith painful recognition.
He’s an artist to watch. Go see.l Worldart is at 54 Church Street.
Call 021 423 3075.
FEARLESS ART
HARD- HI TTI NG: Ayanda Mabul u’ s Ngcono I hl wempu Kunesi bhanxo Sesi t yebi (Bet t er Poor Than A Ri ch Puppet ) at the Worl dart .gal l ery.
Af f i rmi ngChri st i anfi lm fest
A DREAM to trans-form cultures throughstorytelling has led tothe Transforming Sto-ries InternationalChristian Film Festival,for which an over-whelming 108 filmsfrom 18 countries weresubmitted.
Some of the final-ists are being screenedat the V&A WaterfrontCinema Nouveau untilThursday.
The purpose of thefestival is to show theworld faith-affirmingand evangelisticstories, told throughfilm.
Films include AForce for Change, LostBoy, Cosmic Conflict:Origin of Evil, A Dancefor Bethany, Darwin:The Voyage that Shookthe World, Letters toGod, Secrets ofJonathan Sperry andLike Dandelion Dust. –Arts Writerl Tickets are R35. Tobook, call Computicketat 083 915 8000. Seewww.transforming-stories.org
Fl oral desi gners t o pai nt‘ Casa Labi a i n Bl oom’Ar t s Wr i t er
AFRICA Nova presents a multimediaexhibition, Casa Labia in Bloom, fromNovember 17 until January 29.
Developed by Margie Murgatroyd,the showcase is inspired by SouthAfrica’s unique indigenous flora andserves as a reminder of our role ascustodians of this extraordinary her-itage.
The exhibition will feature worksin a range of media and styles, includ-ing painting, ceramics, photography,sculpture and jewellery.
The exhibition opening week willfeature a spectacular show of liveindigenous flower arrangements byfloral designers, on show throughoutthe magnificent rooms of the newlyrefurbished Casa Labia Cultural Cen-tre. Indigenous plants in a range ofunique African containers will alsobe on sale.
Floral artists whose work will beon view are Jeni Jedeiken, Alex Lear-mont, Christopher Peter, AshleighHarvey, Phillip Botha, Grant Donson,Colin Shandoss, Dane Erwee, Lisa
Korver and Mabel Steenkamp. Painters whose work will be on
show include Anthony Cawood, CathyLayzell, Claudia Gurwitz, DianeMcLean, Hanien Conradie, HowardMinne, Jenny Parsons, Jill Trappler,Kurt Pio, Liz Vels, Nola Viotti, Pippa-Lea Pennington and Tracy Payne.
There will be work by ceramicistsAstrid Dahl, Carla da Cruz, ChristinaBryer, Clementina van der Walt, EllaLou O’Meara, Gemma Orkin, MargyMalan, Marjorie Wallace and March-and van Tonder.
Other contributors are Nic Bladen,Andrew Putter, Clinton Friedman,Lien Botha, Frieda Luhl, KeiskammaCommunity Group, Robyn Turner,Frank van Reenen, Peta Becker, JaneEppel, Judy Woodborne, Cathy Stan-ley, Katherine Spindler, Friday Jibuand Kuru Project Bushmen.
For the run of the exhibition theCasa Labia Café will offer a menuinspired by flowers.
l The gallery is open from Tuesdayto Saturday between 10am and 4pm.To book, call 021 788 6062, or [email protected]
Barleycorn bandstandTonight’s Barleycorn Music Clubline-up at the Villagers FootballClub will feature Tankwana, AfterDark and K, Ray & The Bird. Reper-toires will range from the originalfolk of Tankwana to the blues rockcovers of After Dark and the melodyand harmony orientated K, Ray &The Bird. Call 073 055 0602.
‘Viva la Vida’ tango Dutch tango orchestra TangoExtremo will present Viva la Vida atOn Broadway tonight, and at theKlein Libertas Theatre in Stellen-bosch on Tuesday and Wednesday.See www.tangoextremo.com
Myerson’s ‘Florence Years’A solo exhibition of work by KimMyerson, Florence Years, will showat the Casa Labia Gallery untilWednesday. Myerson has justreturned after seven years in Italy.She specialises in portraits, nudesand still lives. Call 021 788 6068.
‘Misa Criolla’ in ParowThe South African Youth Choir, con-ducted by Andre van der Merwe,will perform Ariel Ramírez' MisaCriolla at the Hugo LambrechtsAuditorium in Parow on Wednesdayat 8pm. Mezzo soprano Minette duToit-Pearce will also perform. Tick-ets are R70 to R90. Call Computicketat 083 915 8000.
Foot’s ‘Womb Tide’FTH:K’s production of Lara Foot’sunconventional love story, WombTide, will be staged at the Baxterfrom Wednesday to December 4. Theplay follows an eccentric familythrough a story of love, loss andhope. Rob Murray directs. Call Com-puticket at 083 915 8000.
It’s a ‘Death Trap’Ira Levin’s comedy thriller, DeathTrap, will be staged at The MasqueTheatre in Muizenberg fromNovember 12 to 20 from Thursdaysto Saturdays at 8pm on weeknightsand 2.30pm and 6.30pm on Satur-days. Aubrey Hindle directs the pro-duction. Call 021 788 1898.
What ’ s on
CAPE TIMES Subscription hotline 0800 220 770
‘Un-Mute My Tongue’
