Xhosa Traditional Dancers I ,1981
Provenance : Private collection, Johannesburg.
Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg.
Exhibited :
Literature : cf. Hudleston, S. (1996). Against All Odds, George Pemba: His Life and Work. Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball Publishers, Xhosa Traditional Dancers II illustrated on p.57.
Notes : George Pemba is one of the most important social realists in South African art. Throughout his career, Pemba drew inspiration from his own surroundings. As a compassionate and concerned observer, Pemba became a visual chronicler of the joys and sorrows of township life. By the 1950s Pemba had mastered oils, and by the 70s he made the decision to step away from his family’s business—a spaza shop called Gabby’s Store—to paint more professionally. Having had several years to focus solely on his painting, come the 80s Pemba was an artist in his prime and had developed a great confidence with his own distinctive style— one for which he is still recognised today. Whilst Pemba prided himself on his Christian faith, his Xhosa customs and traditions remained of utmost importance to him. Proud of his heritage, Pemba used his art as a means to keep these traditions alive. In the late 60s, he turned playwright and produced two plays, The Xhosa Prophet Ntsikana and The Story of Nongqawuse, both based on the Xhosa history and mythology which he so loved. Later, Pemba began to depict scenes of sangomas as well as Xhosa weddings and funerals in his paintings. Xhosa Traditional Dancers I is indicative of the artist’s particular decision to contextualise these more traditional scenes in urban surroundings. Significantly, Pemba is one of few black modernist painters to have come from the Eastern Cape province, and certainly the best-known. In fact, he is the only artist from the region to have been represented in the Revisions collection—rendering his insight into daily life and traditions there particularly unique.
Lisa Truter
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