Uhambo Lukamoya

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Solo exhibition of artiste Mawande Ka Zenzile

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To reject the exoticization of Africa is to destroy an entire worldview carefully and painstakingly fabricated over several centuries. This is imperative for any meaningful appreciation of culture in Africa today, and it would be unrealistic to expect it easily from those who invented the old Africa for their convenience. - (Olu Oguibe, Hearth of Darkness, 1993) 

The focus of Ka Zenzile's current exhibition is the idea of  'archetypocalypse', which he coined in 2017 in one of his past solo projects. Ka Zenzile's archetypocalypse represents his shift in his paradigm. It is a way to extent his perception and clarity, to seek truth beyond soundbites and the need for affectations, to transcend normalcy.

 

Uhambo Lukamoya continues this work, and the artist continues to assert himself in the wider art conversation, building on African modalities and spiritualities.  Paris was the perfect place to present this work to counter the widespread and constant exoticization of art from Africa.

He consciously departs from conventional painting methods and processes and is led to "Abalongwe" to free the artist from the burden of representation. The Abalongwe are a shaman or sect of Xhosa healers who use cow dung to heal or expel curses from a person's body by smearing it on the affected area and literally taking out inanimate objects. These inanimate objects are not actual curses, but inanimate objects symbolize or represent curses.

 

Ka Zenzile's consciousness moves away from the themes of stereotyping and exoticization prevalent in African art, both past and present. He argues that our understanding of art and our perception of reality transcend materialistic worldviews and Western art history. These works seek to shift paradigms and transcend cultures of intellectualism.

 

Mawande Ka Zenzile claims: In this part of my work, I continue to explore a more holistic approach, the relationship between art, life and spirituality. The use of spirituality is a key point that allows my artwork to bring my audiences diverse sensibilities from contemporary African art. It is no coincidence. It's jazz, it's Ka Zenzile's blues.

 

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Mawande Ka Zenzile, Paris, 2023 March

 

Thursday, March 16th 2023
Opening - de 6pm à 8pm
Les Verrières, 41 rue de Seine, 75006, Paris