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Manyaku Mashilo in ‘Rites of Passage’ at Gagosian, London
26 Apr 2023 (3 min) read
The exhibition’s spiritual theme emerges in works from Mashilo’s ongoing celestial cartography or migration series - 'Dithapelo tša boMma' – a collection of paintings in which imaginary characters move through abstracted cosmological landscapes that refer to African faiths and identities.
The work of artist Manyaku Mashilo recently featured in Rites of Passage, a group exhibition curated by Péjú Oshin at the Gagosian Britannia Street gallery in London. The exhibition featured work by nineteen contemporary artists who all share a history of migration.
The presentation explored the idea of “liminal space,” a term coined by anthropologist Arnold van Gennep in his 1909 book of the same name and after which the exhibition is titled. Van Gennep was among the first to observe that the transitional events of birth, puberty, marriage, and death are all marked by ceremonies with a ritual function that transcends cultural boundaries. Oshin’s approach challenges linear narratives through works in a variety of mediums.
Liminality has three stages, around which Rites of Passage has been structured: separation, transition, and return. Each of these phases addresses the act of movement, not only through individual experience, but also in the broader context of community. The status of postcolonial Black identity is examined, specifically the “triple consciousness” experienced by members of the African diaspora when encountering counterparts who identify with local majority populations. The artists in the exhibition are further grouped together according to themes of tradition, spirituality, and place.
The exhibition’s spiritual theme emerges in works from Mashilo’s ongoing celestial cartography or migration series – Dithapelo tša boMma – a collection of paintings in which imaginary characters move through abstracted cosmological landscapes that refer to African faiths and identities. The featured work is titled Dithapelo tša boMma – Kopano le dinaledi, translating to ‘Our Mother’s Prayers – A Meeting with the Stars’ in Mashilo’s home language of Sepedi (Northern Sotho).
Mashilo explains: “The scene portrayed is a memory that often comes to me in dreams, where my matriarchal figures are wearing white ritual garments like amour and moving through vast cosmological landscapes, journeying towards unknown destinations, and accompanied by prayers, code and symbols.” She continues: “They dance in circles to call upon our ancestors for healing and revelations.”
Growing up in a Zionist church, this is the kind of imagery Mashilo was exposed to all the time. “The resilience and repetition of movement, dance, song and prayer, are all key in reaching one’s higher spiritual self. We move through space and time with resilience and a shared spiritual knowledge as a tool of healing”, she explains.
“This series serves as a visual reminder of journeys past and journeys to come. It is a reminder of Home and our mothers who make Home, despite the systemic challenges they are facing.”
Images courtesy of Gagosian
