Umgwalo, Geometry, Cultural Preservation, and Cosmic Language in Dr Esther Mahlangu’s Seven-Decade Legacy at Wits Art Museum
Exhibition installation showing timeline at the back and in front a model of her home from the 1980s. Courtesy of WAM and The Melrose Gallery. Photographer: Tatenda Chidora
On a Tuesday evening, the Wits Art Museum became a site of cultural pride for the opening of ‘Then I Knew I Was Good at Painting: Esther Mahlangu, A Retrospective’. The space transformed into a living archive as two floors buzzed with the energy of those gathered to honour the magnitude of Mahlangu’s seven-decade-long career. Rooted in Ndebele geometric precision and bright palettes, Mahlangu’s work extends beyond aesthetics to embody a sustained commitment to cultural preservation and innovation.
Curated with deliberate care and a nuanced understanding of Dr Nontobeko Ntombela, the retrospective invites viewers to a timeline of Mahlangu’s expansive practice. Ntombela’s curatorial vision is rooted in a meticulous curiosity to unearth Mahlangu’s journey’s less-documented phases. By interrogating the earlier years of her practice, Ntombela creates a bridge between Mahlangu’s formative experiences and her later global success. This approach contextualises the evolution of Mahlangu’s practice and challenges the tendency to view her solely through the lens of her commercial accolades. Through careful archival work, Ntombela crafts an expansive narrative that foregrounds Mahlangu’s legacy’s personal and communal dimensions, providing a layered and holistic understanding of her contribution to cultural preservation.
Wide installation view, WAM main space. Courtesy of WAM and The Melrose Gallery. Photographer: Tatenda Chidora
In a compelling video montage within the exhibition, Mahlangu reflects on her work and the significance of Umgwalo. Umgwalo is a form of coded visual language used by the Ndebele people and other African communities to communicate sacred messages or convey specific knowledge. In this video, she asserts that she sees her practice as Umgwalo despite being recognised and categorised by the institution as “art.” This comment reinforces her view that the patterns are not merely an expression of aesthetic practice but a language that transcends academic or commercial interpretation. The exhibition also features archival materials such as photographs, sculptural beadwork, and a render of her home.
Mahlangu’s compositions are sites of heritage and mastery in spatial logic, meticulously constructed with a mathematical precision that balances symmetry and form. Spatial logic refers to how space is structured and organised, using patterns and relationships to create balance, harmony, and meaning. In contemplating the structural depth of her command, we see how her intersecting geometry, tessellation, proportionality, and fractal-like patterns transform her work into visually commanding and structurally intricate. Through this perspective, Mahlangu’s practice emerges as a deliberate fusion of cultural memory and mathematical design, reframing her oeuvre as a sophisticated language of logic and beauty. Mahlangu’s practice exemplifies the principles of tessellation through her interlocking designs unfolding in hypnotic, rhythmic repetition. Her compositions are alive with geometric precision: triangles, diamonds, rectangles. The lines are carefully arranged to form seamless, continuous patterns. These aren’t arbitrary gestures but deliberate constructions, their precision hinting at an intuitive mastery of spatial logic and geometric principles. Tessellation is the arrangement of shapes in a repeating pattern that covers a plane without leaving gaps or overlaps. Through her layered symmetries, she weaves a visual rhythm that speaks to the precision of spatial reasoning and the expansiveness of her cultural inheritance.
Exhibition installation including the BMW Art Car by Esther Mahlangu. Courtesy of WAM and The Melrose Gallery. Photographer: Tatenda Chidora
Scholars such as Dr. Abdul Karim Bangura and Dr. Mamokgethi Phakeng have explored the relationship between African visual art and mathematics. Dr Bangura delves into African symbology and its mathematical underpinnings, emphasising how patterns and structures within Indigenous art forms reflect profound mathematical thought. Dr Phakeng, known for her work in education within the mathematics sphere, highlights how cultural concepts can shape mathematical understanding, using African art forms and their geometrical structures as examples of contextualised mathematical knowledge. Their perspectives provide critical frameworks to view Mahlangu’s work, where the precise tessellations, symmetry, and proportionality embody mathematical reasoning rooted in African knowledge systems.
In a podcast with Mbuso Khoza, Dr Nduduzo Makhathini reflects on how he first learned music by observing his mother play the keyboard. He recalls not focusing on the sounds she created but on the shapes her hands made as they moved across the keys. Drawn to the geometric patterns formed by her movements had a lasting impact on his compositions. Makhathini explains that his approach to the piano is deeply rooted in geometry, with his understanding of music shaped by the visual and spatial relationships between the keys and his hands rather than purely by sound. His compositions, influenced by this geometric orientation, reveal a visual-musical language that echoes the geometry found in Mahlangu’s visual practice.
Samples of some Mahlangu’s collaborations with various brands; Belvedere RED Vodka bottle and Freshpak rooibos tea tins. Courtesy of WAM and The Melrose Gallery. Photographer: Tatenda Chidora
In African arts and sciences, cosmic language integrates visual and auditory elements, conveying universal patterns and rhythms. Mahlangu’s geometric designs are not merely decorative but reflect a cosmic order, using shapes and symmetry to express life’s interconnectedness and cyclical nature. Similarly, Makhathini’s music, rooted in geometric principles, taps into the same cosmic rhythm, creating sound as a form of resonance. Both artists channel the universe’s energy through structure and rhythm, presenting a language that transcends theory. This cosmic language is inherent in their practices, inviting audiences to feel and experience the cosmos in their work.
One of the standout features of the exhibition is the Ndebele Art School for Children board, highlighting the ongoing transmission of knowledge in Mahlangu’s community. Her practice, shaped by hands-on learning and communal teaching, preserves and evolves Ndebele art practice. Mahlangu sustains the cycle of cultural wisdom by teaching, ensuring the tradition’s continuity across generations.
Exhibition installation in the main WAM gallery, showing homestead sign and artwork titles. Untitled, 87 pieces of small acrylic canvases, assorted years. Courtesy of WAM and The Melrose Gallery. Photographer: Tatenda Chidora
Mahlangu’s process is remarkable for its reliance on her eye, hand, and memory. She does not use stencils or mathematical tools and has built an illustrious career by relying on the rhythm of her practised movements. Through her mastery of geometry, symmetry, tessellation, and proportionality, she creates compositions that resonate with both cultural significance and mathematical rigour. Her oeuvre invites us to explore the interconnectedness of traditional African aesthetics and universal mathematical principles, presenting a compelling dialogue between creativity and structure.
Mpumi Mayisa is a curator, art writer, and cultural worker whose practice engages the archive to unravel layers of memory and unearth alternative narratives. Her work creates a dynamic dialogue between past and present, opening pathways to reimagine the future.
The exhibition is currently on view at Wits Art Museum and will be open to the public until 17 April 2025. For more information, please visit The Melrose Gallery and WAM.
