archival pigment inks on 100% cotton rag paper from an edition of 5 + 2 Artist’s Proofs sheet size: 111.5 x 78 cm each Photograph by Jac de Villiers.

Artwork date: 2008
Exhibited: Another example from this edition exhibited at Michael Stevenson, Cape Town, Encounters, 16 April to 30 May 2009. Another example from this edition exhibited at Brodie/Stevenson, Johannesburg, Umphatsi Wemphi, 10 September to 10 October 2009. Other examples from this edition are in the Standard Bank collection and the Zeitz MOCAA collection.
Literature: Perryer, S. ed. (2009). Nandipha Mntambo: The Encounter. Catalogue. Cape Town: Stevenson, another example from this edition illustrated in colour on p.8. Perryer, S. ed. (2011). Nandipha Mntambo: Standard Bank Young Artist Award 2011. Catalogue. Cape Town: Stevenson, another example from this edition illustrated in colour on p.77. Van Der Walt, C. (2011). Nandipha Mntambo: Cowgirl. ZAM Africa Magazine, 01/2011, another example from this edition illustrated in colour on p.48.

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sheet size: 111.5 x 78 cm each

Notes:

It is well-known that Nandipha Mntambo once aspired to be a forensic pathologist. Her fascination with the composition of bodies had long existed prior to her enrollment at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, where she would develop her quintessential use of cowhide. For Mntambo, cowhide is not limited to its presumed cultural prescriptions. Rather, the material ought to be seen and interpreted for the full breadth of its potential symbolism.Comprising three photographs, Praca de Touros IV forms part of a body of work in which Mntambo sought to understand the psychology of bullfighting. A consistent thematic concern, Mntambo confounds prescribed gender roles by assuming the role of the matador, understood as the pinnacle of masculinity, bravery and control.Photographed in an abandoned bullfighting arena in Maputo, Mozambique, in Praca de Touros IV, Mntambo addresses the colonial tether of Portugal, and the assumed roles of power and powerlessness. In preparation for the work, Mntambo trained with a bullfighter in Portugal, studied bullfighting video footage, and visited bull breeders. As art historian Ruth Simbao observed in an interview with the artist in 2011, “it is the private moment of fear, experienced by both the bull and the bullfighter, that Mntambo draws from” (Simbao, 2011: 10).In the triptych’s first panel, Mntambo is pictured seated – a lone spectator in the stands. Poised to face the (non-existent) crowd, the matador is reflective in the second frame, while the frieze of the bull and the fighter in the third frame illustrate the spectacle’s ideal. Still possessing the grandeur of the classic matador, Mntambo’s attire incorporates the bull through her use of cowhide, and these scenes capture the anticipation of the bullfight without revealing its events. Praca de Touros IV is a fine example of Mntambo’s earlier work, during which time the artist established herself as one of South Africa’s foremost sculptors.

Amie Soudien

Sources:

Simbao, R. (2011). A Sense of Pause: Ruth Simbao interviews Nandipha Mntambo in ‘Nandipha Mntambo’. Cape Town: Stevenson in Association with Standard Bank and the National Arts Festival, colour illustration on p. 77.