Esther Mahlangu brings Ndebele culture to international art markets

(20 May 2022) SOUTH AFRICA  ARTIST SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS RESTRICTION SUMMARY: LENGTH: 4:21 ASSOCIATED PRESS Siyabuswa, South Africa - 24 April 2022 1. Various of artist Esther Mahlangu dancing to a traditional Ndebele song being sung by people in her village 2. Wide of young man dancing as Esther Mahlangu watches 3. Wide of Esther Mahlangu dancing while young men sing 4. Close of Esther Mahlangu’s feet while dancing 5. Wide tilt of men clapping and singing 6. Wide of Esther Mahlangu watching the young men perform 7. Tilt up from a fire to show Esther Mahlangu sitting down 8. SOUNDBITE (Ndebele) Esther Mahlangu, Ndebele Artist: “For me it’s about the young children. I want them to know my work and learn how to do it like me. I want them to know it so well so that their children can know where the Ndebele heritage comes from.“ 9. Wide of Esther Mahlangu’s nephew handing the artist her walking stick 10. SOUNDBITE (Ndebele) Esther Mahlangu, Ndebele Artist “I don’t have a favourite, I think all the houses I’ve painted all look beautiful. You only think your work is ugly when you are still starting out and making mistakes, but you realise with experience that it’s all beautiful.“ 11. Wide of Esther Mahlangu walking to her house 12. Various of signage to Esther Mahlangu’s Art Centre and home ASSOCIATED PRESS Johannesburg, South Africa - 29 April 2022 13. Close of sign for Melrose Gallery 14. Wide of people looking at Esther Mahlangu paintings on show at Melrose Gallery 15. Close of pot 16. Mahlangu’s paintings on wall 17. Mid of young curators looking at Esther Mahlangu’s artwork 18. SOUNDBITE (English) Ruzy Rusike, Gallery Manager and Curator, Melrose Gallery: “What’s notable about mam Esther’s work is most definitely the colours and the way in which she’s able to symmetrically make the colours come alive and not make it feel like a how you say an assault on one’s eyes. And I think that goes back into her own understanding of spiritually what colours mean to one when they see it, but also contemporary, what contemporary colours mean now. In the sense that now we’ve got very vibrant reds, vibrant orange, whereas before she was working more with a how do I explain it? Like more of a natural pigment, but I feel that she’s able to, with time, constantly change and reinvent herself.“ 19. Wide of young curators looking at Esther Mahlangu’s artwork 20. SOUNDBITE (English) Lethabolaka Gumede, Curatorial Assistant, Melrose Gallery “As a lot of people will know, her first international exhibition took place in Paris in 1989. This means that she was in her fifties when she was part of her first group exhibition internationally. From that point, we can definitely track how her career has grown and expanded into different areas of the global art world, especially internationally. This is obviously had some great resonance within the local context where contemporary African arts within the South African landscape has treasured her and has recognised her for her contributions within the South African art market.“ 21. Zoom out of calabash pottery painted by Esther Mahlangu ASSOCIATED PRESS Siyabuswa, South Africa - 24 April 2022 22. Pan of Esther Mahlangu portraits in her studio 23. Esther Mahlangu standing at the entrance of her house then saying goodbye and walking away LEAD IN: South African artist Esther Mahlangu has won international acclaim for transforming traditional Ndebele designs into bold, contemporary abstract paintings. STORYLINE: A suspect has been arrested and Mahlangu is still recovering from the trauma. ==== Clients are reminded: Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: ​​ Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive: