September 24, 2021 - October 24, 2021
Unisa Art Gallery
OBU BUBOMI BAM
A Solo Exhibition by Prof Nombeko Mpako
The exhibition entitled Obu bubomi bam 8 out of 8: I teach Art is my autobiography visually presented. Obu bubomi bam means this is my life. The creative process of the featuring artworks in this exhibition is meant to be a therapeutic process. I felt it is time for me to shed the baggage I have carried for years and forgive myself where necessary, or move on, without fear of failure or regret for things I could not change. The therapy begins with revisiting moments of my life, some of which I was at a breaking point in, one way or another, with personal or family situations and sometimes my career as an academic. Since it’s a visual autobiography, some of these moments, I had to perform, and these are captured visually in this exhibition. During these performances I would sometimes find myself literally feeling the exact moment and if it was pain or sorrow, I would be back at that moment. As I was performing and reflecting on these moments I realised that some of the painful experiences I had deliberately buried and forgotten about before recovering or healing from the situation. This is like covering a bleeding wound with a permanent bandage and the more you see the bandage the more you forget about the bleeding wound. Some of these wounds leave permanent and visible scars just like the two main scars on my body. We all have scars, some visible and some invisible. I find the most painful scars we carry in our lives are invisible. Hence, the need for me to revisit all memorable scars of my life as a form of healing. Little did I know that some of these scars were like a permanent bandage covering still bleeding wounds. However, it was worthwhile for me to do this. It is important to mention that my exhibition is also meant to be a celebration of my life, similar to the pleasurable pain concept, but not masochism; rather the expression of coming out of a bad situation, victoriously.