'Souvenir De Paris'
Created in 2003 for Esther Mahlangu's first solo exhibition in South Africa, this work serves as a reflection on the effects of her time in Paris, France
By Art of Contemporary Africa
Content curated from the "Then I Knew I Was Good at Painting": Esther Mahlangu, A Retrospective exhibition documentation and research
Souvenir de ParisArt of Contemporary Africa
'Rondavel' (Round house)
This design is based on the early documented forms of Ndebele houses from the early 19th century. It does not resemble the house that was scouted in 1989 for Magiciens de la Terre and perhaps hints at the home she grew up in of which we have no photographic documentation.
Travel bag
In preparation for her Paris trip, "As a farewell gift, the town council of Middelburg had given her a brand-new suitcase and R800 spending money. A 50 kg bag of mealie meal was checked in with her luggage." - Loots, 2003*
What's in the bag?
According to the myths, Mahlangu was well known for traveling with an assortment of oddly everyday items in her suitcase. One such item was mielie meal. The jest then became that the bag she's carrying must've been filled up with mielie meal (maize).
Note the triangular beaded earring she wears during her time at Botshabelo. Later in this story, you can see how this shifts.
Souvenir de ParisArt of Contemporary Africa
Eiffel Tower
This recurring motif in her work is a direct result of her travels to France. Inspired by her trip to the Eiffel Tower in 1989, the tower appears not only in her paintings from 2003 but also in her beadwork.
Here we can clearly see the beaded earrings taking the shape of the Eiffel Tower. This shape of the earring appears more prominently after her trip to Paris.
Portrait of Mahlangu taken at BotshabeloArt of Contemporary Africa
Headband before 1989 whilst she worked at Botshabelo
The same applies to her headband, which changed after her trip to France.
French motifsArt of Contemporary Africa
Beaded hair extensions accentuating headband after 1989
Here, we see her beginning to layer the headband with the beaded extensions, which appear to be sewn directly into her hair.
Other clear signifiers of Paris
In the painting we also see representations of the The Arc de Triomphe and Notre-Dame de Paris that she and her family visited. She visits these landmarks not in 1989 but in a later return to Paris in 1998 for a solo exhibition held at Musée des Arts d’Afrique et d’Oceanie.
References from Esther Mahlangu's Family Archive in the top row and how they were represented in this painting in the bottom row.
Souvenir de ParisArt of Contemporary Africa
uFly
The aeroplane motif, uFly, has appeared in Ndebele beadwork and umgwalo going as far back as the 1940s. Botshabelo itself was situated in close proximity to an airfield, built in the 1970s. This form was therefore prevalent in umgwalo.
The Middelburg airfield was built in the early 1970’s for use as base point for the still operational Fourth South African Infantry Battalion (4SAI) military base. Middelburg Aero Club (MAC) originated by members of the still active glider club. Now, MAC has grown immensely to become one of the most active flying clubs in the country.
Though the aeroplane is an established motif in umgwalo, previous depictions of the aeroplane at Botshabelo show that the focus of these was mainly through a flattened form, abstracted into geometric shapes. Mahlangu pushes past this convention in her rendering of the plane by representing the more modern models, such as the Boeing and Airbus, different from the older and more traditional versions of uFly that were probably representing smaller military planes and gliders from MAC.
2003 artwork featuring decorated aeroplaneArt of Contemporary Africa
Another 2003 depiction of a South African Airlines plane
When she holds her first South African solo exhibition in 2003 she not only reflects on the trip to Paris in 1989 but also compares this with the homecoming of her solo. By reading these two planes in parallel we see how she pays tribute to both these journeys.
British Airline tail wing: fact vs fiction
Though credited on most of her past CVs for painting the tail wings of a Boeing 747-400 and a Boeing 757-200 for British Airlines 'ethnic liveries' project, Mahlangu never did. It was painted by the twins; Emily and Martha Masanabo.
Souvenir de ParisArt of Contemporary Africa
Tails vs tales
This mistaken accreditation has raised debates on the existing tension between individual artists in their stylistic nuances within umgwalo and the general artistic styles of the communities whose artistic legacy they carry, in this case the Ndebele.
Knowing Mahlangu's motifs and artistic styling therefore means acknowledging the nuances of umgwalo and the rich history and tradition it forms part of not only as a past but as a contemporary movement for all the individual artists that serve as its practitioners.
*quoted from the exhibition catalogue interview in 'Esther Mahlangu', 2003, F.R. de Jager and A.G. Loots.
The images in this story were graciously offered by Esther Mahlangu's Family Archives during the course of research. These images were then made accessible to public in the exhibition timeline of "Then I Knew I Was Good at Painting": Esther Mahlangu, A Retrospective (2024-2025) and related projects.
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