Kimathi Mafafo presents ‘Kgolagano – A Covenant’ which opens this Wednesday, 9th November at EBONY/CURATED, Cape Town from 5 – 8 pm.
Kimathi Mafafo is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice ranges from embroidery, oil painting to installation. Born in Kimberley in the the semi-arid Northern Cape of South Africa, Mafafo questions historical stereotypes around gender inequality in Africa. She primarily focuses on celebrating the black female form placing it in often verdant, abstracted imagery characterised by lush greenery and sensuous drapery which are far removed from the dusty mining town where she grew up.
“The compositions have an extraordinary kinetic quality sometimes at odds with the subjects’ attitudes of profound and serene repose. In this series, her subjects are not foregrounded, but incorporated into a busy profusion of abstract, colourful stitches, loose threads and embroidered flowers and leaves, nature suggesting a source of healing, spiritual strength and connection with the ancestors……they exude self-assurance, secret knowledge, a sense of sisterhood. Their hand gestures seem to carry coded meanings…..gesturing to someone or something beyond the frame. Their eyes, wide open, recall the direct, unflinching gaze of the visionary, or the enlightened one who understands the Zen Buddhist riddle of one hand clapping. And, where their eyes are closed, this suggests attainment of a serene state of being, rather than an attempt to shut out a cruel world that has become too much to bear. Mafafo speaks of her creativity as a thread passed down from her forebears, a sisterhood woven across generations. In this way her artistic practice is an important connection with her past and with her people’s collective memory. But it is also a passage to an imagined future: a dreamed-of space beyond the othering and subjugation of women’s bodies and black bodies, a place of joy” – Excerpts taken from ‘A World I Dream Of’ by Sandra Dodson
‘Kgolagano – A Covenant’ is Mafafo’s 3rd solo exhibition with EBONY/CURATED. Mafafo’s works are held in important public and private collections including the IZIKO South African National Gallery, William Humphreys Art Gallery, Nelson Mandela Art Museum, Fondation H and The Beth Rudin deWoddy Collection (The Bunker) amongst many others. Mafafo was a finalist in the 2022 Norval Sovereign Art Prize.
- This exhibition will be available to view in person and on Artsy.
- To request a catalogue E info@ebonycurated.com
WHAT: Kimathi Mafafo ‘Kgolagano – A Covenant’ at Ebony”Curated
WHERE: Ebony/Curated, 67 Loop Street, Cape Town 8001
WHEN: opening 9 November 5.00pm – 8.00pm | continues to 10 December 2022
INFO: T +27 (0)21 424 9985 | E info@ebonycurated.com | Visit
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