A futurist is a historian by default. This is because one can’t imagine a future without reconciling with the past. Soweto-born multimedia artist, Phumulani Ntuli is hyperaware of this paradox. The body of work presented at the FNB Art Joburg Fair 2023 is reminiscent of the patchwork of cultures and realities that form the vibrant quilt of this country. Undoubtedly, to live in South Africa is to navigate a cultural labyrinth. Like a child taking its first steps, there is a stumbling feeling of a nation that is still trying to find its feet in an ever-changing world. As result we are interrogated with questions such as what place does African tradition have in this digitally dominated world? What is the relevance of these rural landscapes and figures? With the fascinating process of pronto-plate lithography, Ntuli and collaborator Kim-Lee Loggenberg explore these questions.  

The brilliance of Ntuli’s opus is that time and space are both central and yet suspended. The past finds its way in the present, and the present seems occultic enough to suggest a distant future. The ability to find temporal and spatial connection across the broad spectrum of history is essential in our complex society. South Africa is still straddling the effects of the colonial system whilst also trying to establish a new narrative. We don’t want the struggles of the past to be our continued story and Ntuli’s works demonstrate that it doesn’t have to be. We can simply use the past to reimagine new narratives, to celebrate traditional emblems and give them a place in our contemporary reality. In support of this notion, the incongruous patterns of different wrapping paper is jolting for just a moment until the absurd blend of colour and image begins to settle into a strange coherence. It’s like eyes trying to adjust in the dark until the obscure shapes and shadows make themselves familiar to you. It’s difficult to pinpoint how these art works do that exactly. Is it the domestic patterns of the wrapping paper that we’re all vaguely familiar with? Is it the pastel tones of the colour palettes that are somehow both arbitrary and emblematic of a ‘home’ landscape? Whatever it is, there is a clear sense of unifying the fragmentary that allows anyone, no matter their race, ethnicity or culture, to find a relatable aspect. It just takes a willingness to be open to new possibilities of what reality can be. In other words, what if we could adjust our eyes to seeing traditional Africa not as ‘another world’ but rather as an ingrained aspect of our everyday society? As something that can be futuristic as well.  

In 2021, whilst in residency with the Bag Factory, Ntuli produced a solo exhibition titled A Navigation Guide to Kwanqingetshe, translating to A Navigation Guide to Stagnation. In this body of work, Ntuli tackles feelings of anxiety about the state of South Africa and its future. This reflection incarnates a blend of fantasy, reality, history and futurism. While these elements are continued in the exhibition there seems to be a greater sense of rootedness in these ironically disembodied figures. Stationary heads are the central figures in place of Ntuli’s previous bodies in motion, along with a recurring hand in the series of monotypes that seem to say, “I’ve found something.” It appears that the evolution went from searching to settling. Now isn’t that a savoury ideal? To finally feel settled in a place instead of lost in it. For over 50 years, this has been the culminating desire of our youth: to feel that this place we call South Africa is home. The cry existed in 1972 with the Soweto Uprising, to 2011 with the Fees Must Fall movement and in 2023’s student protests. But for this to be home, it needs to reflect not only where we come from, but where we are and most importantly, where we want to be. 

It’s counterintuitive to think that printmaking takes an artist back to their most vulnerable state of creativity. In this state, the artist is at one with the medium. The process is raw and involved. There needs to be a willingness to let these mediums travel, to embrace the likelihood of an imperfect translation from the mind to the plate, and then to the final result. What does this mean for an artist whose medium is primarily digital? Ntuli embraced the new venture of printmaking with a painstaking dedication that made a lasting impression on printmaker, Kim-Lee. She explained that Ntuli does not call his works ‘paintings’ but rather ‘collages.’ However, working with printmaking for the first time, he wanted to stay true to its process by ensuring that every impression was made by hand and not digitally incorporated. In doing so, he would laboriously trace the patterns of different wrapping paper onto a Perspex plate, that would then be re-incorporated onto a series of monotypes. Yet, whilst pasting versus painting are two different types of transfers, the process of printmaking somehow gives these two expressions an identifiable connection: 

“Recapping from Isidleke Sakhiwa Ngezinwele, I realised the active performative contours, edges and cuts of material never happens by chance or plan. They happen in between, at a moment when one invites both accidents and order in the making process. One can only come to a sense of revelation when allowing the margins of thought and expression into play. I initially packed all the fragments, remnants, residues, and actions as indexes for the next work.” 

This was stated by Ntuli in 2022 after his solo exhibition, Isidleke Sakhiwa Ngezinwele or A Nest is Made with Strands of Hair organized by the Spanish art company, The Collection of Pi Ferdinando. Ntuli’s expression of collage is evidently as raw as working with paint on a matrix, where precision and irregularity must find a way to co-exist. The “fragments, remnants, residues and actions” refer largely to his wrapping paper that he packed up and reopened for this current body of work. This act of recycling material is in fact reminiscent of his overall themes. It shows that nothing can truly become obsolete. Anything can be revived. 

To end with brief context, it was when Amé Bell, curator of the South African Pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale, met Ntuli that he was brought to the attention of David Krut Projects. As a gallery that prides itself in preserving the cultural richness of South Africa through art, the choice to represent Ntuli is only fitting as he embodies these values with a dedication and ingenuity. Ntuli elevates the tired saying of ‘returning to our roots’ by taking it a step further: re-establishing our roots. His work encourages us to reimagine our reality, to look around and say: does this reflect a place we’d like to call home?