USING PAINT TO EXPOSE THE TRUTH:
Mabulu ‘not trying to make Zuma look bad, but sees him as face of SA’
CONTROVERSIAL Eastern Cape painter Ayanda Mabulu believes artists will always use their talents to comment on politics as long as government continues to fail the people it is supposed to serve.
The self-taught King William’s Town artist says his work is about looking after the interests of the people and not about courting controversy, although he finds himself unwittingly thrust into the middle of it with every new painting.
Mabulu’s latest work, Yakhali’inkomo – Black Man’s Cry, depicting President Jacob Zuma standing on a mineworker’s head, was recently censored by Joburg Art Fair organisers because it was too controversial. However, it was put back on display after a public outcry.
Mabulu, based in Cape Town, said the art piece was not about making the president look bad but about exposing the truth about who was really behind the Marikana tragedy.
“I am a South African first and foremost and am always deeply affected by what is happening in the country,” he said .
“I am a son of Zwelitsha, raised under the watchful eye of activism in the township, and therefore use the tools at my disposal to have my say.”
The 32-year-old artist said his pieces were not always about politics but told any stories that needed to be told.
“As South Africans our stories are heavy and people want to see them depicted in different forms they can relate to.”
The painting, which was sold for R89 000 last week, depicts a kneeling miner with horns on his head, metaphorically representing a dying bull.
He is being attacked by Zuma’s dog, signifying the police. Zuma, who is dressed in a suit, is stepping on another dying miner’s head.
Last year, the painter ruffled a few feathers with his Umshini Wam – Weapon of Mass Destruction, which featured a traditionally dressed Zuma with his penis exposed.
He also set tongues wagging with his Ngcono ihlwempu kunesibhanxo sesityebi [Better poor than a rich puppet] painting, which featured political figures Jacob Zuma, Barack Obama, Robert Mugabe, PW Botha, Nelson Mandela, George Bush, Pope Benedict XVI and Bishop Tutu seated around a table, much like in Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper.
Mabulu said he was not picking on Zuma, but the president ended up in the foreground of his works because he was the “face” of South African politics.
The self-employed artist, who matriculated from Nompendulo High School in Zwelitsha, said sometimes his work even surprised himself.
“When I am in the zone, I am not conscious of what I am doing. Because the process of creating a painting is spiritual for me, I sometimes work on a piece and only really look at it later and am sometimes shocked at what I have created.
“Those [the paintings] are ideas of the collective and I am just an ear and messenger for the community.”
Mabulu said he came from a very supportive family in the Eastern Cape.
“As an African child, I was raised by my community.
“While I lived with both my parents – mom Ntombizanele and dad Elvis – I was raised by all the fathers in my area.
“My family, including the community, understand that art is a spiritual calling and I come from a family who love individuality so they support me unconditionally.
“I think my whole family, including my two brothers Bongani and Sakhumzi, have the ability to create, I am just the only one who chose to pursue a career in the arts.”
Mabulu said after matric, he made the conscious decision not to study art but practice it.
“I chose not to disrespect the talent I was given by my ancestors and God and go to an institution to be taught how to analyse and explain what is happening.
“Not that there is anything wrong with those who study art, that is what works for them.”