Ubuntuism Re-enchanged An LL Editions' exhibition in Venice Biennale at Palazzo Bembo From: 11-May-2019 To: 04-November-2019

“Those who feast on the grounds of others Often are forced into gestures of friendship they do not desire. But we are the generation that cannot be bypassed. We shall not be blinded by gifts from feasts. With our own fire we shall stand above the mountains, as the sun.”
The Rise of Shaka” - Mazisi Kunene

Kunene wields texture to highlight how desire and greed influences the viewer to perceive the fabric of time at a slightly different tempo. This creates an intimacy which radiates from Kunene’s words - even more so when considering the birthplace of his inspiration being a lack of self-acceptance. His poem toys with the primal effect of absence and presence, where excess of the latter suffocates and the former piques our interest. Human nature necessitates a lack of contentment; envy always lies in predatory patience, waiting for a moment of dissatisfaction as we reach from our needs towards our desires. Ubuntusism Re-enchanted evaluates the loss of integrity and the effects of “stand[ing] above the mountains, as the sun.” Our appetite for this knowledge propels us through the exhibition and, when we depart, it will be with the recognition of the bedrock that Ubuntu was built upon: a person is a person through other people. The Re-enchantment aspect derives from a re-imagining of the self as a personal entity, as a collective identity, while paying homage to the generational bricks that built Ubuntu.

The collaboration with the GAA Foundation under the proposal of “Personal Structures” - Time, Space and Existence creates the possibility to share, commit and acknowledge ourselves in a reflective narrative for the re-articulation of the self through print and other articulations. The artist and printer in modern creations work in harmony to produce lithography, print and so forth to the extent that they are interwoven and cannot be separated, like a thread in a tapestry. Legate Lithography Editions (LL Editions) epitomises this concept. A space has been created that enhances the reflective force of the work before them. The first trial proof of the printmaking process requires the artist to inspect the quality and retouch if need be. The investment is mutual in order for the piece to fulfil its transformative purpose. Critical evaluation, retouching and personal engagement is required in order to genuinely confront what is revealed in the construct of the self. The process may not be comfortable but it will be transformative: this is the power of Ubuntusism Re-enchanted.