Strauss & co - 16 February 2019, Cape Town

59 43 Mustafa Maluka SOUTH AFRICAN 1976– You Say the Things You Think You Have to Say signed and dated ‘08 on the reverse acrylic, oil and spray paint on canvas 182,5 by 132,5 cm R200 000 – 300 000 EXHIBITED Galerie Mikael Andersen, Copenhagen, Mustafa Maluka: The Message, 2 February to 8 March 2008. ITEM NOTES Mustafa Maluka’s vibrant paintings can be described as provocative portraits that aim to analyse contem- porary culture and global politics. The large-scale canvases evolve from photographic references, selected for their connecting gaze, and repro- duced in the artist’s unique style of bright colours, dynamic mark-mak- ing and abstract backgrounds. 1 Stripped of their origin and identi- ty, Maluka’s subjects are represented as transnational, racially-ambiguous figures that are celebrated through dense layers of paint and bold patterns. As seen in this paint- ing , Maluka combines traditional portraiture with street culture refer- ences in order to detach the image from its original context and charge it with a distinctive personality. Drawing from his own past grow- ing up in the Cape Flats, the artist aims to use his provocative portraits to comment on the perception of minorities and immigrants in various societies. 2 1. Mikael Anderson. (2008) Mustafa Maluka: The Message, [Online], Available: http:// mikaelandersen.com/exhibition/the-message/ [7 December 2018]. 2. Stevenson. (2007) Mustafa Maluka: The Interview (a transcript), [Online], Available: http://archive.stevenson.info/ exhibitions/maluka/the_interview.htm [7 December 2018].