Kimathi Mafafo: Seizing the Day

Goddess-like female figures appear within luscious woven landscapes, their bodies wrapped in boldly patterned fabrics and embellished with golden jewellery. In the work of South African artist Kimathi Mafafo nature is explored not just as a physical space, but as a state of being which is associated with feminine energies, creativity, self-expression, commune and motherhood. Drawing on references from classical art as well as on her own personal experiences, Seizing the Day, her solo exhibition at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, West Palm Beach, celebrates the natural world as a powerful source for inspiration, strength and learning.

 

Mafafo considers each of her textiles to be part of an ongoing and evolving tapestry that responds to her personal life and emotional states as well as the world around her. While the weaving of each composition is a labour intensive process involving collaboration with two other women whom Mafafo trained, she rarely knows the final shape a work will take until it is complete, relying on colour, material and intuition to guide the narrative. This tension between knowing and unknowing is captured through the contrast between uniformity, where the stitch marks precisely render shapes such as the women’s bodies, and abandon, where ribbons, fabrics and threads tangle, loop and fray. For Mafafo, it also visualises a dialogue between the external and internal worlds, the rigid social expectations that are placed on women versus the volatile environment of our psyche.

 

In this new body of work, she is also reflecting on the requirements of and relationship between her role as an artist and as a mother, and on nature’s role as the original source of life and sustenance. In one portrait, we encounter a mother crouched beside her daughter holding a mobile phone. While we might often associate phones with disconnect, their screens drawing us away from the sensory world into a digital existence, the mother here appears to be embracing the technology as a contemporary tool for learning and communication. Elsewhere, mother and daughter sit alongside one another reading or simply enjoying one another’s company.

 

Alongside these figurative pieces, Mafafo presents a series of abstract landscapes that evoke the emotional experience of being in nature, while also subtly confronting the environmental damage wrought by human activity. These pockets of wilderness, untouched and flourishing without human presence, serve as both a refuge and a reminder. They offer viewers a sense of escape into pristine, untouched worlds while underscoring the fragility and resilience of the natural world. We are variously transported into a forest-like setting, rich with textures, earthy tones and touches of luminescence; into scrubby lands covered in fluffy moss-like forms; and into the arid landscapes of the Northern Cape, Mafafo's birthplace, where after heavy rainfall, the red earth is blanketed with vivid purple, red and yellow flowers.

 

Mafafo’s work speaks to the fluidity of existence, the delicate balance between order and chaos, and the profound impact of both external forces and internal landscapes. She invites us to recognise the beauty in our own transformations and to find strength in the interconnectedness of all things.