Johannesburg - With his penis hanging out, splashing semen and being dragged away by a recycling trolley – that’s how Ayanda Mabulu depicts President Jacob Zuma in his latest provocative artwork.
“I included that mother f****r in my collage because he left a s**t imprint on Joburg,” says Mabulu. “There are some people that leave great imprints like (Nelson) Mandela, and others like Zuma who just make everything worse.”
An exhausted-looking Mabulu has spent the past year labouring over his latest exhibition, Footprints on Commissioner Street, which opens its doors today at the Hazard Art Gallery in Maboneng.
The controversial artist has joined forces with local painter and printmaker James Delaney to chronicle Joburg’s 130-year history through its oldest street, Commissioner Street.
“I haven’t had a proper night's sleep in more than a year now,” he says, sipping on a cup of strong black coffee.
“There is no resting for me. Nobody left an inheritance for me, so I have to work continuously to survive.”
Delaney spent extensive time looking through the city archives at the Joburg Library in search of historic photographs of Commissioner Street’s landmark architecture, which he used to create prints and paintings that highlight the inner-city’s complex history.
In turn, Mabulu, whose often graphic paintings explore power and privilege, has turned his critical eye to the street and its “forgotten histories”.
Mabulu, best-known for his controversial painting depicting Zuma performing a sexual act with businessman Atul Gupta, says his contribution focuses on the lives of people, rather than the street’s landmark architecture.
“As far as I’m concerned, these are colonial structures, and I couldn’t give a f*** about them. My main interest is on the people, and how they were affected by the erection of these buildings.
"How many people fell from the ladders and died, how many people were buried under the rubble.”
Another artwork features a picture of a black female with a comb in her hair. The woman’s mouth is cut out and replaced with the mouth of a monkey. Mabulu says this piece speaks to the racism that still exists in society.
“Look at that woman from Hout Bay (Vanessa Hartley) who recently said black people are like stupid animals and should be tied to a rope. We’re meant to be a Rainbow Nation, but I don’t buy into all that bulls**t.
“I want to see the reaction of these racists when they come and view the exhibition. I bet they won’t be able to sip their wine so easily when they look at these pieces of art.”