SPEELMAN MAHLANGU

Speelman Mahlangu was a South African artist whose practice encompassed both painting and sculpture.

Mahlangu’s imagery is uniquely African and his works often depict a dream world with its roots in tribal myths. His imagery draws on traditional practices inspired by his grandfather, who introduced him to the legends and symbolism of animals and ancestor sacrifice.

Riding the Bull is the artist’s unique take on an age-old sculptural subject – the horse and rider. In Mahlangu’s hands the rider gestures openly and exuberantly to the heavens as he sits aloft a powerful bull, the most precious and sacred beast in many tribal cultures.

Speelman Mahlangu was a South African artist whose uniquely African imagery draws on traditional practices inspired by his grandfather, who educated him in tribal folklore and symbolism of animals and ancestor sacrifice.

This worked entitled, The Rider, continues the artist’s exploration of the horse and rider motif. In Mahlangu’s hands both the rider and his mythical beast are synchronised in their gesture skywards, straining with vitality as if they might lift off…