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The power of prayer is almost always associated with the matriarchs of families. Memories of grandmothers and mothers praying in the lounge as you got up in the middle of the night is something shared by many black South African families. They are images of the power of faith and dedication of the women we were raised by. With the women in Mmabatho Montsho’s family always having been worshippers, it’s these images that have haunted her, so she painted them.
“The paintings are an exploration of a portrayal of African Manyano women in oil on canvas. The Women’s Manyano is a prayer service union in the Methodist Church. Besides meetings held on Thursdays or Saturdays, the organisation has a clearly stated mission as stipulated by their Constitution. The women stand out on Sunday mornings in their bold red jackets, white hats and bibs, and black skirts. I think it is this boldness that makes them a striking image on canvas.”
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Montsho, known for her roles in Rhythm City and Happiness Is a Four-Letter Word, says that the inspiration for her paintings came to her late in 2016 at night.
“The first painting emerged from a drawing I had done after incessant visions of women of prayer. Doing that drawing was like opening the floodgates because more visions came after that, which led to the first painting in oil on canvas. It portrays a group of women of prayer walking towards their mission with their backs to the observer.”
She surrenders the meaning and message of each painting to the dialogue that each person who comes in contact with it will have with that particular painting or the series.
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“Even I, as the creator, grapple with what it means to me as the work unfolds. The messages and meanings change and evolve during the process.”
Montsho hopes to exhibit her works when the time is right, she tells #Trending.
