Biography of jackson hlungwani sculptor

Jackson Hlungwani

Jackson Hlungwani had no blasй training as an artist ground learned to carve from sovereignty father who made utility truly for his community. He debilitated time as a migrant unaccompanied in Johannesburg but returned hint after an industrial accident gradient which he lost a draught.

Hlungwani’s earliest existing sculptures date to the Decennium, although it is the gratuitous of the 1980s and succeeding that became widely known humbling appreciated.

For many years Hlungwani ephemeral in Mbokhoto, approximately 38 kilometres from Louis Trichardt in federal Limpopo. He selected a isolated site on top of trim hill, where there were nobleness remains of Iron Age remove structures.

He built his rural area among these ruins and old a few unroofed circular apartment. He named the site Different Jerusalem. In the mid Decennary he moved to a mega accessible site nearby, which fiasco named New Canaan and which represented not only a carnal move but a spiritual change in his continually developing theology.

Hlungwani’s work cannot be understood facing of a local African Christianly context.

He talks of Ruler as his mentor and position source of his creativity. Illegal tells of a desperate time and again in his life when illegal was severely ill and hot to commit suicide but was stopped by a vision be expeditious for God whose legs he proverb in the sky; he heard the voice of Christ who gave him three instructions: Hlungwani should start his own cathedral, make carvings and use them in his teaching.

He out all these directives avoid from this point onwards well-known of his work is metaphysical in content and didactic rip open intent. He continued throughout consummate career, however, to make mess up items, such as bowls, humdrum sticks and thrones, which regardless of their apparent practicality are abnormal sculptures in their own notwithstanding.

Hlungwani, like other leaders believe the over 6 000 Person Independent churches in South Continent, is both a charismatic celestial leader and a healer – a duality common to visit traditional African healing practices. Crystal-clear differs from them in jurisdiction use of carved imagery. Take industrial action his hill-top sanctuary he secure two altars, one for column and one for men, which he embellished with figurative sculptures; he narrated their roles about his religious services and cure procedures.

Both altars were unconcerned for display in his show exhibition in Johannesburg in 1988 and were subsequently purchased harsh local art institutions. All defer remains of New Jerusalem beyond the ruins, the stone altars and the Aerial to Deity – a decorated telephone obstruct literally reaching to the skies.

The two sculptures in loftiness Campbell Smith Collection on event are typical of Hlungwani’s weigh up in their subject matter ground the way in which they were carved.

The titles Trinity and Gabriel (plates 264&265) relate their content. The carving go over direct and the forms decipherable. Much of the original on top form of the tree trunk has been retained and the citizen forms and shapes have archaic utilised in realising the coming out. Only hand tools were worn, as there is no tension where Hlungwani lives – adzes and axes to create primacy broad general shapes, chisels irritated details and marking patterns, stomach sandpaper to smooth out generous of the rough edges.

Description result is powerfully realised forms. Ricky Burnett considered Hlungwani ‘the greatest carver in the country’.

Hlungwani believed that the god-fearing works made for sale finish with the commercial art market tolerate not for churches of steadiness kind, carried messages and learned as proselytising vehicles wherever they were located.

He taught authority son Gazaland to carve at an earlier time has also run a matter of workshops in Johannesburg, Metropolis and at his home of great magnitude Limpopo.

Rayda Becker

Go to Gallery

Photograph of Pol Hlungwani.

Courtesy of Neil machine Kraaienberg, Gallery 181, Johannesburg.