Restone Maambo’s exhibition An Exploration of Africa views the continent post colonialism through African feminine gaze

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor

Africa and its people to date must rank as one of the most studied continents, with an assortment of people from academics, writers, anthropologists, students, artists to simply some eccentrics descending on it to dissect it, study it and sometimes, get inspiration from it. Today everyone seems to have a view on Africa, but often the views of its peoples are unfortunately either muted or drowned out by the mountain of views by other people from elsewhere, and as a result tragically losing out an opportunity of understanding what its people  really think about their continent of birth.

In a way it is understandable why this interest. This is a resilient continent that continues to exist despite living side by side with its ruins and debris of the past.  Its peoples despite lack of financial resources compared to other continents, continue to achieve feats in different aspects of life, be it the area of arts, sport, science or academics, for example.

And therefore who would not want to understand such a continent in their right mind? This general curiosity about Africa is therefore understandable as not only has the continent suffered from slavery, basically human trafficking to the West in a big scale, but colonialism also descended on the continent after slavery, as If to finish what slavery had failed to do.

But irrespective of these violent encounters and the plundering of its natural resources, Africa remains today a place where many find inspiration in life. In this context, it becomes essential to hear from the continent’s peoples, what they think about their own continent and their experiences of their interaction over the years with the outside world, often violent and confrontational. One way of exploring the continent and its views is through contemporary art created on the continent by its creatives based on the continent and its diaspora.

One artist who is dissecting the continent from the African perspective in relation to its violent and confrontational encounter with colonialism and slavery, is visual artist Restone Maambo from Zambia, who is currently showing his work in the form of an exhibition with Johannesburg’s Berman Gallery  Fine Art in association with art content and trading platform Artsy. The exhibition titled An Exploration of Africa can be viewed on (www.artsy.net/show/candice-berman-gallery-an-exploration-of-africa-restone-maambo-2022).

 The curators of the show have framed this exhibition in the following way: “Restone Maambo’s most recent series of works represents a further deepening of the artist’s engagement with his continent of birth, and his deconstruction and recreation of the image of its people. In his signature mixed media collage style, Maambo frames a gaze upon the women of Africa that encapsulates the dichotomies of place and identity that have always characterised this part of the world. In layering and reforming images from bits and pieces and brushstrokes, Maambo not only points to the shattering of African cultural primacy through colonisation and oppression, he also illustrates the eternal regenerative capacity of the African spirit.

Created in a vivid palette that riotously combines colour and texture, these works become windows on the boldness and courage of their subjects, who here often turn a direct and penetrating gaze back on the viewer, in contrast to many of Maambo’s previous works, where the subject’s eyes are often downcast or turned to an unseeable, other view. Here, Africa is looking back and through the veils of dust left by the passing of its colonisers – shaken perhaps, often displaced, but never lost.

While beauty is certainly at the forefront, an unpredictable energy seems to vibrate through each piece, making an encounter with this series an active process, an internal investigation, a conversation between the audience and the portrayed that signifies much broader questions about the globalised African society, the people that comprise it, and its interaction with the rest of the world,” says a statement accompanying the exhibition from the curators.

Who is Restone Maambo?

Perhaps it is the innate spirituality that the elders recognised in Maambo at an early age that gives his paintings their unique, almost meditative and healing quality, which captivates the viewer, who is treated to an intimate moment in time in the life of the subjects of his exquisite portraits.

Maambo was born in Zambia and navigates his ancestry and experiences with ‘Kusololwa Amumuni’, the call from the ancestors to become a spiritual healer, through his artistic practice. Brought up by his mother, Maambo’s respect and appreciation of femininity and womanhood stem from this positive relationship, and features strongly in his work. He often paints women in what appears to be a spiritual, meditative state, and the viewer feels touched to have been included in what is a very intimate and personal moment.

Maambo’s artworks are created using acrylic impasto paint, varnish layering, collage and mixed media, which are often applied to large canvases. The inclusion of collage is integral to the artist’s processing, as it depict an infinite awareness of his environments and his immediate surroundings, both in Zambia and South Africa.

Maambo’s use of acrylic paint and varnish layering is lucid, and his work exalt his subject matter, which is produced on a life-sized scale to better establish a relationship between the viewer and his chosen subjects. Maambo’s practice incorporates traditional painting methodologies alongside new experimental materials, such as plaster and cement, interactive antidotes which result in playful and experimental mark-making on the surface.

.Exploration of African is on at Candice Berman Gallery Riverside Shopping Centre, Bryanston, Johannesburg till December 18, 2022. The exhibition can also be viewed on www.artsy.net/show/candice-berman-gallery-an-exploration-of-africa-restone-maambo-2022: