Maru ke ao a tla le pula

Nelson Makamo

30.11.24 - 01.02.25

Nelson Makamo present’s a pool from a deluge of artworks that honour and celebrate his artistic lineage, community, and the power of the collective. Maru ke ao a tla le pula is a signalling of the near precipitation of long awaited blessings. “One cloud, leru, can’t create rain on its own. Clouds, Maru, need to gather (form a collective) for there to be rain - blessings," says Makamo.

Through a wayfarer’s sensibilities, Makamo observes the people he encounters in their own languages and cultures. In this show, his admiration is drawn from the younger version of himself - the one who’d watch his grandmother, Koko Morongwa, perform Malopo and grandfather play and dance Dinaka. In both instances, the gatherings were the kind that carried intense spiritual frequencies with waves that crash through the people with euphoria. Highs such as these are a glimpse into what groups of people with common objectives can make and touch should they choose to stay faithful to the course and cause.

Bio

Nelson Makamo is a Limpopo born and Johannesburg-based Artist. Nelson Makamo is best known for his charcoal and oil paintings that redresses decades of images that have portrayed African children in destitute. Makamo’s career spans sixteen years since the year he received his formal training at Artist proof studios, in Johannesburg. He has managed to solidify an iconic signature and a subject matter that has steadily placed him on a global stage, making him one of the world’s youngest and most sought-after visual artists of our times. Makamo has exhibited in South Africa, the USA, France, Italy, the Netherlands, England, and Scotland. His work is featured in prestigious public and private collections. Nelson Makamo’s artwork speaks to changing the global mindset of what it means to be an African child. His portraits have strong emotions that every young African possess, from conviction to prowess and determination, you cannot help but resonate with every piece. His mixed media style and a unique mark-making technique that breaks the scholarly rules is a very distinct signature.