Postmodern Ndebele exhibition
and walls.
At the same time, art lovers and collectors started to collect “pure white Ndebele” and marvel at the art. Soon enough, strong black lines began to frame the patterns and images, and a transition is seen in the colour preferences of the artists and community, who eventually moved away from using colours from “the earth” to using bright colours they purchased from the winkel (shop). It is very reminiscent of what happened to world-famous Dutch artist Mondrian, whose red, yellow, blue colour with white square and black lines have stimulated fashion and art for decades – until today.
The façade making and painting of the Ndebele drew ever more tourists and certainly put the Ndebele on the map. Not only to every other member of this community but, more importantly, to thousands of tourists, architects, anthropologists, home decorators and others. Journals dug into the mysteries and began to look backwards, with fantastic illustrations.
Craft took a back-seat now, a simple lazy-stitch was quite enough, the then present colour pallet of beads prevailed – geometry was the rule. No life or people were depicted, this was a time of building dream homes or palaces and this became the subject matter.
With time, the buildings became flags, signals rather than aspirations.
Certain signs and symbols gave away clues, such as the famous razor blade used to illustrate the celebration of a young man returning from isolation. Rituals became art festivals and exhibitions and individuals, especially the girls about to become women turned themselves from modest body artists into fantastic sculptures, probably taking their cue from the Michelin Man staring down from the roofs of the great lorries, travelling between mines and the neighbourhood.
When one carefully scrutinises this exhibition, it is evident that the Ndebele are the most obvious example in the world of art and architecture.
The exhibition closes on Saturday, September 30.
For more information contact the director, Sharon Crampton, at 031 206 2889 or admin@phansi.com