The Art Of Being Human A Feature on Khehla Chepape Makgato (FINWEEK)

The art of being human

18 Oct 2015

Mandy de Waal and Jon Pienaar

The term “ubuntu” has been overtraded in recent years. The South Africanism that is a philosophy is now a brand.

There’s an Ubuntu Cola and Mark Shuttleworth’s version of an open-source operating system, called Ubuntu Linux, which also features a custom font called ubuntu.

In popular culture there’s a character named Ubuntu who features in the satirical animated TV cartoon called The Goode Family, and in the Portuguese second division there’s The Ubuntu Rugby team that is attached to Academia Ubuntu, a nonformal education project for African immigrants.

Add to this businesses such as Ubuntu Gaz, Ubuntu Plumbing and the masses of other business named after the popular philosophy, and one gets a sense of how diluted this ideology has become.

Returning to the roots of ubuntu 

But artist Khehla Chepape Makgato is giving this uniquely African philosophy new resonance, because every aspect of his work as an artist and a human being is imbued by ubuntu.

Simply stated, ubuntu means “I am because you are”. It is a logic of human kindness, which suggests that our humanity is grounded in how we relate to each other as people. Ubuntu finds clear expressions through humanistic values such as kindness, cooperation and sharing.

An artist who is strongly attached to his clan − as evidenced by his use of his family name Chepape, as well as his surname, Makgato − the emerging print-maker has brought the ubuntu ideology home.

“I believe in the greatness of women and men whose good deeds − when put together − make a great world to bring up children,” he says, explaining that South Africa’s youth are its untapped natural resources.

Makgato believes that children are more precious and valuable to this country than its mineral wealth.

“I believe in a sense of community and people living that sense of community,” he says.

“I believe in distinctive qualities of the broad cultural cluster of humanity called ‘Afrikans’, whose consciousness as shaped by the uniquely African historical experience defies racial barriers,” Makgato says, adding that he owes his place in life  to the broader notion of community. “It is my quest to rediscover the sense of community wherever I am.”

Inspired by shattering events 

Makgato uses many different kinds of artistic media, including charcoal, ink, paint and print-making techniques. Sometimes he combines techniques, experimenting with mixed media. But there is something that dominates all his work and this is an attitude of raw honesty.

Each of Makgato’s works is unique, but the integrity in the stark images he creates is accessible in all his work.

What inspires this artist?

Realpolitik as evident in the portraits, landscapes and impressionist pieces he has done around the Marikana tragedy.

This article originally appeared in the 9 July 2015 edition of finweek. Buy and download the magazine here.