Messages to a mother at JAG

A mid-career retrospective by artist Mbongeni Buthelezi will run at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, which will include some works not seen in public before.
ART aficionados will be in their element this spring, as Mbongeni Buthelezi’s unique brand of work opens up for exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) on 4 September.

Untitled (Singer) 2008 plastic on plastic,244 x 122 cm, Seippel Collection Untitled (Singer) 2008 plastic on plastic, 244 x 122 cm, Seippel CollectionThe exhibition, titled maNyauza, Silent Messages to my Mother, serves as Buthelezi’s mid-career retrospective. “The show is a collection of work produced at different periods of his career, including some works not shown to the public before,” says the gallery’s public programmes manager, Tiny Malefane.

It spans 15 years of his career, with pieces ranging from his early watercolours to his more famous plastic painting collages; in essence, it gives viewers a chance to see Buthelezi’s journey as an artist thus far. “This exhibition is curated with the intention of showing how Buthelezi’s earlier experimentation with different media … later led to him finding his trademark in plastic,” Malefane adds.

“His work is intended to show a trajectory and social commentary on daily life. It also shares views of how his work speaks on the subject of history in a rapidly changing society … Buthelezi uses art as a form of communication and participates in a global discourse around issues of conservation.”

The exhibition centres on the main installation, called maNyauza. It contains 280 small abstract paintings in plastic which combine to form a 15m tall collage. These comprise silent messages to his late mother; they are primarily conversations that he remembers having had with her while he was growing up.

Mbongeni Buthelezi, Self portrait, 2008, Plastic on plastic, 250 x 185 cmMbongeni Buthelezi, Self portrait, 2008, Plastic on plastic, 250 x 185 cmOther works are displayed according to different themes; for instance, there is a section dedicated to jazz music, which shows people playing various instruments, and a series about children, depicting them playing and singing.

MaNyauza will be officially opened by Bart Dorrestein, the chief executive officer of Legacy Hotels and Resorts. Legacy is a long-standing collector of Buthelezi’s work, and many of his pieces are on display in its hotels. “For Buthelezi, it was important that someone who is familiar with his work opens the show,” Malefane says.

The exhibition will be complemented by a catalogue, which is to be launched on 31 October.

Entrance to the exhibition is free, and the launch will take place at 4pm on 4 September. It will run as part of the Arts Alive International Festival, which runs all through September, but his work will continue to be exhibited until 31 January.

JAG can be found in Joubert Park, with the entrance in King George Street. It is open from Tuesdays to Sundays, from 10am to 5pm. For more information on maNyauza, you can contact Tiny Malefane on 011 725 3184 or email tinym@joburg.org.za.