“As a child, I remember the glow on my mother’s face as we watched Dr. Esther Mahlangu on TV. She turned to me with wide eyes and said, ‘I met her once, you know.’ My mother, Ndebele, stood taller that day, as if the world was finally recognising the elegance and order of umgwalo—the Ndebele visual language of geometry, symmetry, and colour. For me, Dr. Mahlangu became a kind of myth made real—a quiet storm of brilliance.”
So, when I came across the exhibition curated by Mpumi Mayisa, aptly titled Hlukanisa, uHlanganise, at The Melrose Gallery, I was immediately intrigued. The phrase, which means “to deconstruct in order to reconstruct,” stirred something personal—a kind of emotional archaeology. It evoked a sense of rupture and restoration, a process all too familiar in the human experience: break it down to build again.
What truly drew me in was the promise of a “conversation” with Dr. Esther Mahlangu, a legend whose work has always spoken without words. I imagined myself standing in her presence, watching her balance silence with statement, paint with canvas, tradition with innovation. But upon arrival, I realised the dialogue wasn’t with her physically; it was unfolding through art. Her work had been placed in deep, thoughtful conversation with a new generation of bold, Black women artists.
And in that moment, I, too, had to hlukanisa and hlanganisa; dismantle my expectations and reconstruct an understanding of what this exhibition intended to express.
Deconstructing for Reconnection
Let’s try to explain this in terms we can all understand—beyond art speak and academic nuance. At its core, Hlukanisa, uHlanganise asks: What does it mean to take memory, tradition, or material apart, and use its fragments to create something new?
The exhibition features six Black women artists: Dr. Esther Mahlangu, Nwabisa Ntlokwana, Puleng Mongale, Tinyiko Makwakwa, Charity Vilakazi, and Nikiwe Dlova. Across mediums—beads, ochre, textiles, pigment; they engage with themes of memory, womanhood, and spirituality. Their work bridges the gap between the sacred and the lived, the past and the future.
This is not just about lineage. It’s about choice. What do we carry forward? What do we leave behind? Each piece contributes to an ongoing cultural conversation—inviting you, the viewer, to find your own interpretation in the tension between deconstruction and reconstruction.
Artist Spotlight: Charity Vilakazi and the Spirit of Amanono
During the exhibition walkabout, visual storyteller Charity Vilakazi waited until the room’s energy softened before speaking. Her presence was grounded, reflective. She shared:
“In conversation with Mpumi, when we spoke about ukuhlukanisa (to deconstruct) and uhlanganisa (to reconstruct), I told her how my journey into the arts began—by stepping into a matriarchal gaze. The matriarch as a vessel between the physical and spiritual realms. Everything kept leading me back to my childhood, which in turn led me into spirituality. That’s where I found the spirit within me—Amanono.”
Her work was especially captivating. It had a surreal quality—populated by vibrant figures in exaggerated hats. At first, I mistook them for Elves, dancing between serenity and chaos. But these beings were not Elves—they were Amanono.
Among Nguni peoples, Amanono refers to children in the spiritual realm—babies or young children who passed away early. They exist in the ancestral plane between worlds. In Vilakazi’s work, these figures evoke presence, loss, playfulness, and power. Her canvas becomes a spiritual portal, a place where memory and myth live side by side.
Artist Spotlight: Nwabisa Ntlokwana and the Material of Motherhood
Sculptor Nwabisa Ntlokwana explored memory through texture, recycling cardboard and papier-mâché sourced from her community. She said:
“Papier-mâché reminds me of my younger self—school projects, playfulness. As a mother now, it helps me connect with my inner child. Using discarded materials reflects how I navigate motherhood: multitasking, managing mental health, leaning on community.”
The work is intentionally unpolished—raw, honest. It reflects collaboration, the many hands and hearts involved in raising children, and the imperfections that shape us.
In another piece, Ntlokwana turned to leather, tapping into ancestral memory and the rituals of her Xhosa culture:
“When I tapped into leather, I was tapping into history. In our culture, we sacrifice inkomo (a cow) as a rite of passage. It’s a way to connect. I think I wanted to connect with my late mother.”
The work symbolises seeding—planting something and waiting for it to grow. The canvas was left open, unstructured:
“It represents a platform for the seed to grow in any direction it chooses. It’s also a symbol of pregnancy and the journey that comes with it. This piece felt like my child—I don’t want to limit him. I want him to grow into whoever he’s meant to be.”
Ntlokwana’s sculptures embody the exhibition’s core theme—breaking down familiar materials and cultural practices to build something more intimate: a narrative of becoming.
Final Reflections: Breaking to Build Again
As I left the gallery, I carried more questions than conclusions. Hlukanisa, uHlanganise is rich with meaning—but sometimes, its high-concept framing created a kind of distance. Still, perhaps that’s the point. Maybe the exhibition is asking us to not just deconstruct materials and memory—but to deconstruct how we interpret art altogether.
The central thread—a “conversation with Dr. Esther Mahlangu”—is not literal. It unfolds through symbols, colour, geometry, and texture. These six artists are not mimicking Mahlangu’s language; they are building on it, disrupting it, reimagining it. Some speak harmoniously. Others perhaps extend her legacy. All are in dialogue.
Visit the Exhibition
If you’re in Johannesburg before 25 May, visit Hlukanisa, uHlanganise at The Melrose Gallery. See how memory, womanhood, spirituality, and materiality are broken open—and stitched back together. You might find your own meaning hidden between the beads, textures, and layered stories waiting to be seen.
