Viewing Cinga Samson: Nzulu yemfihlakalo

Prepare to be transported into the world of South African artist Cinga Samson as he unveils his new body of work at White Cube Mason Yard. Completed in his Cape Town studio, the exhibition includes large and small-scale paintings that explore the idea of spirituality and ritual. Between heaven and earth, the works create a sense of another world, an intangible metaphysical realm that impacts human existence.

‘Nzulu yemfihlakalo’ is a borrowed term from an isiXhosa phrase which loosely translates to ‘the depth of mystery’ and is used to express devotion while also being a description of God. Leaving the door open to interpretation and spirituality, Samson’s work is hyperreal with a hallucinatory quality that creates a feeling of the unknown. With piercing blank white eyes, a sense of the sublime dismisses the viewer’s gaze.

Bringing the viewer back down to earth, cultural references are scattered throughout the works. Samson’s works are figurative in nature with objects or memento mori frequently appearing, such as bouquets of proteas – the national flower of South Africa. In ‘Nzulu yemfihlakalo’, the human form is equal to nature and drives forward together in the creation of life.