The Aesthetic Charge of Pitika Ntuli's Bone Sculptures

Following the very successful talks program, we hosted on the 12th of August 2020 an online panel discussion titled The Aesthetic Charge of Pitika Ntuli's Bone Sculptures. The Panelists' included the following: Pitika Ntuli (Exhibition Artist), Ruzy Rusike (Exhibition Curator), Prof. Hlonipha Mokoena (Art Historian), Athi Mongezeleli Joja (Art Critic), Thembeka Heidi Sincuba (Artist), moderated by Thembinkosi Goniwe (Curator)

Brief: Azibuyele Emasisweni features 45 sculptures made of animal bones that signify a call for the return to the source of meanings and modes of being African in the contemporary world. These bones are imbued with pure and natural energy in line with their attunement to the natural flow of the world; equally, they are transformed into works of art saturated with various meanings and aesthetic overtones. The panel will focus on reading the creative language and aesthetic forms through which the varying meanings of the sculptures are rendered and signified. The purpose is to engage the aesthetic charge and enigmatic aura manifest in Pitika Ntuli’s bone sculptures, unpacking his thinking process and innovative strategies of (contemporary) sculpting and rendition of materiality. We will explore how the notions of spirituality, anthropomorphosis, and posthumanism are visually invoked in bone sculptures when they are thought of as remains without and beyond the flesh, yet are externalized thoughts, feelings, experiences, and desires of an artist, activist, and spiritual healer.