Esther Mahlangu, a South African artist, has showcased her unique approach to Ndebele art in her first retrospective at the Iziko Museums of South Africa in Cape Town.

Mahlangu painted the iconic BMW 525i Art Car in 1991, being the first African artist to contribute to the celebrated project. The car was a symbol of aspirations for the Ndebele people, who admired the fast cars as a symbol of weddings and celebrations.

Mahlangu’s work is rooted in the centuries-long tradition of Ndebele art, but her unique approach to color and shape flows seamlessly between indigenous designs and contemporary art. She was one of the first to translate the Ndebele style of mural painting to canvas, using chicken feathers as her brushes. Mahlangu’s wall-size canvas works from the early 1990s allowed her to explore color and design in new ways, making her work travel and enter private collections.

The exhibition aims to capture Mahlangu’s sense of agency and her story from her perspective, highlighting her self-belief and the tensions between modern and rural South Africa.

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Source: Wallpaper