Esther Mahlangu, working with laughter in her heart

WITHOUT a doubt, she is a national treasure – and 89-year-old Esther Mahlangu's words are as awe-inspiring as her artwork:

When I am painting
my heart is very wide
it reaches out to everything
and everyone

A new book, Esther Mahlangu: To Paint is in My Heart, is a celebration of a beautiful soul. Interviews with her and photographs of her artwork are accompanied by her resounding words, such as:

I sometimes laugh to myself
while I'm working ...
I laugh in my heart
and in my mind. 

Honouring ancestors

Mahlangu was born in 1935 near Middelburg, Mpumalanga, and belongs to the South Ndebele grouping. Her works grace galleries and are painted on houses, walls, cars, fabrics, pots and random found objects.

Her mother and grandmother began teaching her about traditional Ndebele forms and motifs when she was 10. She tells about the history of Ndebele art:

The tradition of painting our houses in bright colours has its origins in our history where, during a time of conflict, the Ndebele people were forced into hiding in a cave. It was there, while besieged and running out of food, that they planned for the future and the safety of their homes. Each year, we pay tribute to the ancestors who lived in that cave and the ideas that emerged there …The original patterns painted on the houses were used to announce events like births and deaths, and even marriages. 

In 1989 she participated in the group exhibition Magiciens de la terre at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. This launched her into international fame. Since then she has exhibited in more than 20 countries. She still paints today, teaching younger generations of Ndebele the traditional techniques.

Colours from nature

Mahlangu says when she was a child, they took plant extracts and colours from nature and mixed them with cow dung to cling to the walls. Later, she began painting with acrylics, which are more durable and dry faster. She refuses to choose a favourite colour:

I love all the colours because each one is unique and has its own charm ... Each colour adds something different and, when combined, they create a harmonious melody. All the colours are related. 

When she starts painting, the inspiration flows. She says she paints what's in her heart and what her heart tells her – also what's in her mind, because she knows it originates from a deep ancestral pool.

When heart and mind agree,
I know my spirit is in the right place.
I paint to honour my ancestors!

As a child, she started painting with a feather. She believes her mental balance keeps her going, because with it, she doesn't need a ruler to draw a straight line.

I was taught early about the importance of balancing my emotions and my thoughts. Hence my motto: Heart, Mind and Spirit! 

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‘When I create, it feels like a celebration’

She shies away from explaining the symbolism of her colours and motifs and says she focuses on the composition as a whole.

The colours I choose are about balance and harmony, and how they come together to create the final artwork is what's most important. 

She does explain that the visual language of her work can represent experiences and evoke memories:

When I create, it's as if I am rejoicing, and it feels like a celebration. The abstract forms might not directly depict events, but they are influenced by rhythms and flows of life, such as joys and challenges. I hold a feather in my hand, then something takes over and I draw a straight line. Then I'm fulfilled. 

She brilliantly captures the creative process, how one becomes part of a creative stream, a channel for a collective creativity. Her people's creative expressions have begun to disappear as a result of migrant labour and farm work, she says. Now she is reviving them:

My work seeks to remind me of who we were before the arrival of the white people in our land ... My innovations are a natural progression of the ancestral knowledge passed down through generations.

Soothing the senses

It's a lovely book about a remarkable woman, one of our country's Very Important Residents. Her work soothes the senses. It celebrates life, the ingenuity of human beings, the power of imagination, the joy of being human:

To those who want something from me, I offer hope. When I look at myself and my work, I see happiness and joy, like the early morning. It's about sharing that feeling of contentment and celebration with others.

This year, Mahlangu has been selected to participate in the 60th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia.

May this gifted woman handle the paintbrush or feather for a long time to come, opening her heart so that joy and celebration of life may flow in perfect composition and balance of colour.

She has the last word:

Long after
I am here no more,
people will still go
and see the paintings
and they will remember
there was an artist called
Esther Mahlangu. 

Esther Mahlangu: To Paint is in My Heart by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Azu Nwagbogu and Thomas Girst is published by Thames & Hudson and costs R479 at Loot.

♦ VWB ♦

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