PRESS RELEASE
AYANDA MABULU - The Healers
Jun 23 – Jul 30, 2022
Everard Read presents The Healers, a solo exhibition by Ayanda Mabulu.
The Healers Exhibition by Ayanda Mabulu denotes the resurgence of ancestral spirituality, traditions, and lineage of Indigenous African people. Mabulu purports that African Spirituality has been grossly misrepresented and violated by a history of colonial advances that sort to displace it with western doctrines and spirituality.
Mabulu aims to revive the sanctity of African Spirituality and traditional wisdom to urge a return to Source - Embo. Embo is the spiritual epoch referred to by the Egyptians as “Nehe” or in isiXhosa “Naphakade” – eternal life. Mabulu asserts that years of colonization have disrupted the connectivity to source and this prolonged disconnect from ‘Source’ further incarcerates the ancestors who seek to love and guide Abongoni – “the spirited ones”. In this light, Mabulu strives to free the ancestors by paying homage to them in his paintings.
The sacred burial rights of African tradition is the pivotal point of Mabulu explorations. African spirituality upholds that sacred burial practices are emblematic of ‘planting’ the deceased as seeds in the soil, so they may emerge as trees that store the ancient pearls of wisdom from their roots to the trunk to the crown of the trees. They believe death to be the beginning of eternal life- Kunaphakade. It is believed that pearl wisdom held in the leaves whispers ancient wisdom carried through gusts of wind and the root system of the trees acts as a network of connectivity from ancestral lineage to the living, akin to the umbilical cord from a mother to her fetus. This concept is known is as umlimbo, a connection from Source to the living guided by love.
Mabulu’s Healers series depicts three enlightened deities pictured with their majestic Izilo - the totems of their divinity. Each deity basks in thick and rich flora exuding age-old wisdom as they sit at the entrance to Enyangweni - the birthplace of the sun, the moon, and the stars in African mythos. The Izilo and the deities are not gods, nor should they be worshiped, this is the misrepresentation Mabulu seeks to rectify, they are conduits with which to connect with UNkulunkulu – God. His three artworks hope to transport their viewers through a celestial maiden voyage back to the spiritual epoch– Enynangweni. Mabulu aspires to give souls a safe passage to return to Source. Masiye'embo!
We invite you to the exhibition opening on 23 June 2022, 6PM at Circa Gallery.
