Collection: Mphendla Ndlela

Thami Jali

Mphendla Ndlela

‘Njoba neyami indlela yakhanyiswa izibani zabanye, nami ngifisa ukwenza njalo, ngikhanyisele abanye ngesami isibani.’

‘Since mine was illuminated by the light of a select few, I take it upon myself to light the path of others.‘

Sewn together in this exhibition are threads of an homage to individuals who are driven by the restless spirit. In particular, three people, Helen Elizabeth Martins and Nukain Mabuza, along with the artist’s grandmother.

Jali has long been inspired by such visionaries (a deliberately avoidance to call them artists) from a young age. Starting with his grandmother who played clandestine tricks with the mirror and light, to Mabuza through his ‘Stone Garden’ and later encountering Helen Martins of the Owl House (Nieu-Bethesda, Eastern Cape) which can be described as the meeting of light (and dark) through ground glass and stone. Whilst he first encountered these restless spirits at a very tender age, it is only now that he has decided to honour them through his exhibition.

What combines all the aforementioned figures is their contention with convention. As a result of which, they endured some form of alienation, a self-induced exile from public life and a debilitating sense of being misunderstood.

The exhibition is aptly titled, Mphendla Ndlela (I’m looking for a way), he posits Nukain Mabuza as a sojourner charting a unique path. The artist is also referring to his own journey, turning a corner to (high)light the candles that have illuminated his own journey, not only as an artist but as a human being.

Charting back to Jali’s earliest expressions, we find an artist concerned with the political imperative, he transitioned to working with young people using art as education and later ‘art for development’. He had an opportunity to study law but rejected this option for his calling to commit his life to art making at Rorke’s Drift. It is therefore safe to say that Jali, himself, has been living with some kind

of delirium since that decision, it is no coincidence then that we find this work in a surrealist style, an aesthetic not too far from the delirium.

Whilst this exhibition is about homage, it is also his urge to artists operating in this moment to look to these agents as anchors and seers of something beyond the visual. To operate outside of trends and that the artist’s vision should not be tethered and distracted by public perception. Nawe phendla eyakho indlela.

Text by Russel Hlongwane