Saori Isogai, Amamoto & Shiraishi Africulture Centre (August 2024)
Artist's DNA
In August, we remember the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6 and the end of World War II on August 15. On August 6, 1995, marking the 50th year since the bombing, Tanzanian artist George Lilanga, accompanied by the late African culture scholar Kenji Shiraishi, visited Hiroshima. During this visit, Lilanga created five large statues known as Hiroshima Shetani, which were exhibited at the Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art.
The Shetani work (see below) that Lilanga painted during his solo exhibition at the Gallery SUDOH in Ginza, Tokyo, was a demonstration during his visit to Japan in 1998. Growing up in an environment with minimal Western art influence, Lilanga was born into the Makonde Clan, renowned for its ebony carving. He learned carving from his uncle and others from a young age, practicing with materials like cassava. In essence, Lilanga was destined to be an ebony carver from birth, embodying the DNA of an artist.
Shetani by George Lilanga, 250x105cm, 1998, paint on copper foil canvas (Amamoto & Shiraishi Africulture Centre)
From Ebony Sculptor to Painter
Why did George Lilanga transition from three-dimensional ebony sculpture to two-dimensional painting in the 1970s, breaking away from Makonde tradition? And why did his work begin to feature vivid colors and expand in the 1990s?
In the 1990s, Lilanga started using enamel paints to create brightly colored works on square boards, measuring 40 or 60 cm. During this time, he also began with delicate watercolors. The Hiroshima Shetani, a 3 cm-thick portrait, represents a connection between his three-dimensional sculptures of the 2000s and his two-dimensional works of the 1990s. It is noteworthy that Lilanga, after his transition to brightly colored pop figures, eventually returned to sculpture, bringing his journey full circle from ebony carving to vivid pop sculpture.
Matayo, Shetani, ebony, 61x23x29 Lilanga, Hiroshima Shetani, 180x90x3, 1995, paint on board Lilanga, 31x15x15, 2004, paint on wood
Source: “Eternal Africa” exhibition catalog, Tama Art University Museum, 2019
George Lilanga began using vivid colors as a result of adopting techniques from the Tingatinga School, another Tanzanian artist group known for their use of enamel paint on board. The Tingatinga School and the Nymba ya Sana (Swahili for “House of Art”), with which Lilanga was affiliated until 1990, had interactions that influenced his style. The bright colors and background gradations of Lilanga's 1990s work are reminiscent of the Tingatinga School’s techniques.
In 1987, Kenji Shiraishi, a scholar of African culture, invited Jafari Aussi of the Tingatinga School to hold a solo exhibition at a gallery in Aoyama, Tokyo. This was the first solo Tingatinga School exhibition abroad and garnered significant attention, making the front page of a newspaper in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's former capital. This exhibition seems to have been a stimulus for Lilanga.
While Lilanga was inspired by the physical techniques of the Tingatinga School, his motifs and concepts were distinct. Unlike the Tingatinga School, which focused on animals and birds with a concept of “coexistence,” Lilanga’s work featured shetani as a motif and was driven by the concept of “solidarity.”
George Lilanga's Chronology
1943
Born in Lindi, Tanzania, as the second of seven siblings in the Makonde Clan, known for ebony carving.
1973
Met Sister Jin and joined the " Nymba ya Sana." Exhibited in Washington, New York, and Scandinavia as part of the "House of Art" exhibition.
1990s
Began painting colorful Shetani as an independent artist. Exhibited in the UK, Germany, France, Japan, and various Biennales. His work was featured on the cover of a London Sotheby's catalog. Visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, invited by Mr. Shiraishi, and painted five large works.
2000s
Suffered amputation of both legs due to worsening diabetes. Held a solo exhibition at the Mitterrand Cultural Center, Africa Remix in Germany. Exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Kochi Museum of Art, and more. His work was adopted as a poster for the Milan African Film Festival.
2005
Died in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
In 1943, George Lilanga was born in Lindi, a city in southeastern Tanzania, where Mount Kilimanjaro rises. He was born into the Bandu-speaking Makonde clan, which has a myth that a man carved the first woman from African ebony, and they became husband and wife. Growing up in the Makonde tradition, Lilanga was immersed in its spirits, dances, songs, and prayers. As a child, he would have seen the ancient masked dancers called Mapiko performing rituals for a good harvest, prosperity, healing, and so on.
In 1973, Lilanga moved to Dar es Salaam, the former capital of Tanzania. There, he was discovered as an artist by a Catholic nun who had established the "Nymba ya Sanaa" (House of Art). In 1974, he began exploring various art forms, including painting. This marked his transition from ebony sculpture to two-dimensional painting. At the Nymba ya Sanaa, Lilanga had the chance to experiment with new artistic genres, giving a contemporary frame of expression to the traditions inherited in the Makonde community.
In the 1980s, Lilanga’s paintings were showcased in the U.S. and Scandinavia through the Nymba ya Sanaa (House of Art). By 1990, he had become independent from the Nymba ya Sanaa and continued to exhibit his work internationally. His paintings were displayed in Japan, Italy, the UK, France, Germany, and the U.S. Notably, in March 2000, posters featuring Lilanga's pink Shetani were displayed throughout Milan during the African Film Festival.
Although Lilanga was exposed to Western art, his sole favorite artist was Picasso. In 2000, his diabetes worsened, leading to the amputation of his legs. He passed away in Dar es Salaam in 2005, shortly after the death of his close friend Kenji Shiraishi. In Japan, Shiraishi organized exhibitions of Lilanga's work at various venues, including the Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art, the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, the Kochi Prefectural Museum of Art, the Marugame Art Museum, and the Tama Art University Museum.
Lilanga was a vibrant personality. He loved dancing so much that he formed his own dance group and won a prize in a dance competition in Dar es Salaam. He also enjoyed riding around in a suit on his Honda 750cc motorcycle.
Shetani and Ujamaa
Why did Lilanga continue to paint Shetani and increase their size from 40 cm to 200-300 cm? "Shetani" is a Swahili term for spirits. Lilanga believed in the existence of Shetani and told Shiraishi that they would visit him at night while he was asleep. Lilanga painted each Shetani in a single stroke, without drafting or composing beforehand. The Shetani are characterized by their interlocking limbs, their freely extending arms and legs, and their humorous expressions.
The expansion of Shetani might symbolize "Ujamaa," which means familyhood and solidarity. This concept was central to the socioeconomic policies of Tanzania's first president, Julius Nyerere, after the country gained independence from Britain in 1961. The Mueda Plateau, where the Makonde people developed their culture, was isolated and less affected by the slave trade and colonization until the 1920s. In the 1960s, the revolutionary movement for Mozambique's independence from Portugal began in Makonde, with funds from ebony carvings supporting the movement. This historical context might have influenced Lilanga to represent Shetani in a way that reflects Ujamaa.
Makonde sculpture traditionally focuses on Ujamaa, emphasizing family and community solidarity, often depicted as numerous figures carved into a single statue, akin to a family tree. Lilanga innovatively merged this traditional wood carving approach with the Shetani figures, originally started by Makonde sculptor Masaki. By doing so, he connected the traditional Makonde art with a new two-dimensional expression.
The Makonde people, to whom Lilanga belonged, are known to make humorous sculptures. These include carvings with titles like “a man acrobatically holding water jars with both feet” and “a man trying to stop his wife from running away.” Their traditional art includes the “ujamaa” style, where many figures support each other on a single piece of wood, and the Shetani category. The term "Shetani" comes from "Satan," introduced by Arab traders, but among the Makonde, it refers to spirits—mischievous entities that can help or annoy people and change their appearance at will.
Carving the hard ebony wood was challenging, and the natural shapes of its branches and roots often inspired the artists. After about 20 years of experimenting since Lilanga’s transitioned to painting two-dimensional figures in 1974, Lilanga arrived at this freewheeling expansion of Shetani, with their vibrant colors and playful expressions of pop art.
Shetani, while part of everyday life, represents a different kind of existence. Lilanga was never focused on their differences but instead used them to convey a message of solidarity and unity. Through his work, viewers might sense the joy of “ujamaa,” the spirit of mutual support among the people of Tanzania. In this way, Lilanga’s art could be seen as an unconscious form of decolonialism, reflecting the unique African worldview and supernatural beliefs in the 1960s, when many African countries gained independence.
African Rock Art
Africa, with its 3,000 languages and as the birthplace of humanity, has a rich history of rock art, including carvings and paintings from prehistoric times. In 2023, the British Museum launched a digital collection of 23,000 photographs of rock art, allowing people to explore 30,000 years of ancient artwork online. This collection includes images of livestock, abstract patterns, and warriors painted on rock surfaces, showcasing a unique writing system called the Libyco-Berber alphabet.
Though these artworks are not signed and the concept of "art" as we understand it did not exist then, they reveal a deep cosmology. For early humans, creating art through drawing, dancing, and singing was a form of prayer and the purest expression of their humanity. This spiritual connection is reflected in Lilanga's work, which combines spontaneous, mural-like artistry with modern materials.
Lilanga's Shetani represents a unique cosmology blending ancient symbols with contemporary pop art. His work embodies a hymn of solidarity and places humans at its center. Similarly, the San people of the Kalahari Desert, who settled there 40,000 to 50,000 years ago, created significant rock art. They believed in spirits that could change form between humans, animals, and plants, highlighting a widespread African belief in the spirit world. Lilanga’s art, which depicts these spiritual themes, reflects the soul of Africa and has earned global recognition for its innovation and depth.
Contemporary African Art Streams
In 1989, the Centre Pompidou in Paris hosted the groundbreaking "Magiciens De La Terre" exhibition, which showcased non-Western art from around the world. This exhibition aimed to address the issue of Western art dominating global art scenes, as it featured works from regions often overlooked. The African artists selected for this exhibition were not widely recognized by their own governments at the time.
Led by André Magnin, who was a curator of the "Magiciens De La Terre" exhibition and supported by Swiss collector Jean Pigozzi, marked the beginning of a significant period for African art in the 1990s. According to Professor Mbye Cham of Howard University, a leading American institution for Black scholars, this era was a renaissance for African art. George Lilanga, a prominent Tanzanian artist, is among the artists featured in Jean Pigozzi's African art collection.
While some artists like Lilanga remain in their home countries, many African artists live in the diaspora. These artists have often moved abroad due to political reasons or other circumstances. Notable contemporary African artists include Theaster Gates, whose Afro-Mingei exhibition is currently at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo; Sonia Boyce, who won the Golden Lion at the 2022 Venice Biennale; and Sir John Akomfrah, who currently represents the UK in the dynamic Black art movement. Sir John Akomfrah is a leading visual artist whose father worked for Ghana's first President, Kwame Nkrumah. Akomfrah, who moved to the UK as a child after the 1966 military coup in Ghana, was also a friend of the late Kenji Shiraishi.
Vision of Amamoto & Shiraishi Africulture Centre
The Amamoto & Shiraishi Africulture Centre houses a collection acquired from the African art collection of Kenji Shiraishi, a renowned researcher and collector who spent many years traveling across Africa to gather artworks. On the occasion of the Centre's opening in 2022, we received a message from Sir John Akomfrah. Here is an excerpt from his message:
“…I will never forget the many wonderful conversations I had with Kenji about Lilanga and the Tingatinga school, and his deep conviction that the splendor of African art will one day find its place in the sun…"
This statement, "the splendor of African art will one day find its place in the sun,” inspired our vision for the Centre: a "Diverse and inclusive world for all forms of art." We are committed to learning from the resilience and creativity of African art and artists who, despite their histories of hardship, are exploring new frontiers and honoring ancient traditions with innovative expressions.
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