ARTIST Mandisi Mncela has warned that African values are being eroded through the adoption of foreign cultures.
Mncela, who described himself as an abstract artist, said he was on a path of self-discovery and was always keen to learn new things. In his latest exhibition at the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg, he explores religion, politics, poverty and spirituality.
He also examines the role played by African foretellers and spiritual leaders varying from Nongqawuse and Isaiah Shembe to Credo Mutwa, and how communities survived before the arrival of colonisers and the legacy they left.
“Today we are no longer colonised, but are driven by desire to pull each other down,” Mncela said .
“A business owned by a black person is destroyed by a fellow black person. Black people kill each other on a regular basis, and so in many ways we have become our own worst enemies.”
Titled, Black Man You Are On Your Own, and influenced by Steve Biko’s concept of Black Consciousness and the impact of colonisation on black people, Mncela’s exhibition demonstrates how Africans have a belief system which recognises a supreme being and the role played by spiritual leaders as mediators.
His work looks at how Africans were forced to discard their belief system and adopt foreign concepts, and the after-effects of this.
“There is a book by Biko called Black Man You Are On Your Own which provides important lessons for people and the need to be appreciative of, and be proud of, themselves and not pull each other down. That was very influential when I went about in coming up with this work,” he said.
Mncela’s work, which varies from paintings to mosaics, explores the devastating effects of alcohol abuse and how it leads to other social ills including teen pregnancy, drug abuse and crime. It further covers how money and material pursuits have seen the decline of moral values in society by using different mediums of art, poetry writings, and music to portray the daily lives of people.
According to the artist, while black people are now able to vote, the impact of colonialism lives on and is reflected in many ways. Mncela described himself as a spiritual being who believes that one can be a Christian, a Muslim, and one may also believe in ancestors, but that does not mean that one belief is supreme over another one.
Mncela, 46, was born in Mtata in the Eastern Cape and learnt art in the Western Cape where he focused on oil paintings and later on mosaics.
His work has appeared in galleries across the world including in Denmark, France, the UK and the US. Mncela has also participated in a range of art exhibitions including the Hilton Arts Festival and the Turbine Arts Fair.
The exhibition, which began last Sunday, runs until September 22.