Sweet Dreams Bruno Claessens - Duende Art Projects

For the occasion of its first participation to Parcours des Mondes 2022, Duende Art Projects presents a carefully selected group of Southern African headrests including several masterpieces created by anonymous Tsonga, Shona, and Swazi artists. The curated exhibition “Beaux Rêves – Sweet Dreams” will show a stunning group of 19th century neckrests in juxtaposition with colorful abstract paintings from three contemporary Ndebele artists from South Africa: Franzina Ndimande, Angelina Ndimande, and Anna Mahlangu.  

In line with Duende Art Projects’ ambition to bring classical and contemporary art from the African continent together in a clever way, several correspondences can be discovered between the South African antique headrest and the modern Ndebele paintings. It should be no surprise the compositions of the paintings are very architectural as they were originally painted on houses. Yet, headrests as well can have a most architectural composition, the base and support of the head connected through elaborate design elements. The brilliant use of negative space in both types of art additionally plays an important supporting role. Just as the use and play with symmetry and asymmetry around the central axis creates powerful compositions. While Ndebele painting was passed through from mother to daughter, the headrests are as well strongly feminine in conception. Both the female painters, as the anonymous wood sculptors, show us how creative they could be within the limitations of a certain style or type of object. 

For generations, Ndebele women living in southern Africa have created an art of remarkable richness and vitality. In large murals that covered the exterior walls of their houses, they created designs that are at once ancient and modern in their minimalism, their bright colors, and their bold abstract patterns. This unique geometric design with their schematic color arrangements in angular areas outlined in black marked their Ndebele identity. Under the impulse of the late Belgian art dealer Alain Guisson, a group of three women transferred the ephemeral Ndebele mural paintings from the wall of their houses to paper, thereby promoting and preserving the art form for posterity. “Beaux Rêves – Sweet Dreams” presents seven works by Franzina Ndimande, her daughter Angelina Ndimande, and Anna Mahlangu created in 1993. At the time it was a very new way for Ndebele women to assert their identity, persistently pursuing their own aesthetic path. Together with the internationally acclaimed artist Esther Mahlangu, the Ndebele art style has conquered the world ever since. The vividly colorful abstract designs, with their dynamic treatment of composition and color, have inspired innumerous fashion designers and other creators.  

The group of Ndebele paintings, with their intense and pure delight in color, form, and design are presented together with an exquisite group of 19th century Southern African headrests. Carefully selected for their age, quality and design, they can be counted among the best of their type. These wooden headrests were meant to elevate their owner’s head from the ground during sleep to protect intricated hairstyles from dust or being flattened. The sleeper would lie on his side and then rested the head with the neck or cheek on the curved support. Because of their intense daily use, in time they acquired a lush worn patina. Because of their nightly use, these headrests were connected with the world of dreams, a mystic moment when the ancestors could communicate with their descendants.  

The headrests from the Tsonga have become justly famous as examples of extraordinary inventiveness and carving skills. Specialist artists created symmetry around a central axis, using a form of harmony and counterpoise. The endless creativity in the design concepts of their headrests is shown by three exceptional examples. Nine other headrests originate from Zimbabwe’s Shona people, characterized by a play between triangles and circles. The female public area and female scarification patterns are prominently and consistently represented in these headrests, visually acknowledging the importance of women in a male dominated society. Lastly, a Swazi headrest creates an image evocative of an animal. This exceptional example was already acquired in the 1870s and is one of the most beautiful examples of its type.  

Lastly, the title, “Sweet Dreams” is sort of self-explanatory. As we share our passion for art and our desire to create living quarters filled with beauty, who doesn’t occasionally dream about the acquisition of a certain artwork. The selection of this exhibition wishes to be the subject of those ‘sweet dreams’ of its visitors.