LUCAS SITHOLE
LS8120
"Dancing to the waves", 1981 - Indigenous wood from Zululand - 137x037x048 cm
Provenance:
Gallery 21, Johannesburg
Die Kunskamer, Cape Town
Work exhibited:
Gallery 21, Johannesburg - 1985 cat. X04
Work illustrated:
Our Art4 Ons Kuns (F.E.S.T., Pretoria), 1993, p.182 commented + ill.
Press review:
Vaderland, Johannesburg - 6.11.1985, commented
The Star, Johannesburg - 20.11.1985, commented
Note: This work originates from 1970 and was reworked by the artist by 1981.
Note:
This sculpture is recorded and illustrated in the monograph published in 2015
“Lucas SITHOLE 1931 – 1994: Highlights 1966-1993” – ISBN 978-3-033-04655-9 – on pp. 110/111
Artist's legend:
"One beautiful morning, I went down to the River where all my beautiful friends used to bathe and where we did our washing and shared our secrets and jokes.
But when I came to the River, there were none of my friends; everything was quiet and still, there was no wind, nothing, it was all deserted.
So I undressed and put my clothes on a nearby big rock and started washing and bathing.
I sang my best song, which is our way of inviting our friends. At first, I was only singing and humming softly to myself, then I found myself dancing and wriggling this way and that way.
Suddenly the river which I thought was asleep, started running and flowing and then I heard it sing back to me, beautiful music from the waves.
So I found myself singing louder and louder and the waves got bigger and bigger, but I was dancing on a big beautiful rock. Then, all of a sudden I heard thunder which didn't scare me, for it added some rhythm to my music. Then I heard whistles from the wind and some humans crying. At first I thought they were singing, but they were being swept away.
Maybe I thought it was that Tornado again, looking for his lost wife. But because I know he loves my dancing and singing, he won't harm my family and if he sees women dancing in the nude, his anger will crease."
