Source work:
0941/88
Bonnie Ntshalintshali (1967-1999)
Lobola
1988
Painted earthenware
The Abomination of Desolation - Nicky Leigh
Nicky Leigh (b.1966)
The Abomination of Desolation
Oil on board
R15 670
I have a great love and respect for the work of Bonnie Ntshalintshali. Her work has a child-like naivety and innocence, which stands in stark contrast to the sinister reality of AIDS. Ntshalintshali's tiered ceramics seem to reflect a sense of the order and hierarchy of Zulu traditions. A culture that has survived for many generations is now becoming eroded and the state of transition is painful and confusing. Some of the negative aspects of Western culture are being assimilated into the Zulu culture with tragic consequences.
Traditionally women are respected and appreciated by Zulu men. Lobola is a reflection of this appreciation and men take a pride in their wives. In a modern transitional society morals and traditions are undermined and with this comes sexual promiscuity, abuse of alcohol and drugs, disrespect of elders and tradition and lust for material gain.
Now women are raped and abused on a daily basis. There is little respect for life and purity. Some Men feel they have the right to have sex with whomever they please and take no responsibility for the consequences. Women give of their bodies freely with no thought to consequences. No thought is given to contraception and unwanted babies. Unwanted children are conceived to parents who are HIV positive. Parents die of AIDS and children are left to fend for themselves and younger siblings. Unwanted babies are abandoned.
This painting is an expression of my strong feelings about a subject that affects all of us - immorality and AIDS. I have adhered to a sort of tiered composition. At the base are parents dying of Aids and handing infants to older siblings to care for them. The children beg for food. In the centre is a woman giving birth and around her lie dead or unwanted babies. Above the children are couples copulating. All are set within the context of a Gothic arch suggesting the catacombs - places of death and decay. At the apex of the arch is a penis symbolizing the worship of sex and immorality. Skulls seem to transform into angel babies to suggest those that have died. Angel babies cry out in despair at the misery and tragedy around them.