Omang Malerato III

Omang Malerato III shifts dramatically in tone and atmosphere. Malerato stands in a field saturated with scarlet and deep maroons, a landscape that resembles blood. These colours are not decorative; they are an invocation. They honour the artist’s ancestors who were unjustly murdered in a historical war for the throne. Generations ago, members of the first house — the rightful lineage — were targeted by rival houses, leading to the assassination and violent scattering of families across South Africa. Some fled. Some hid. Some survived only because others fell.

In this painting, the field becomes a symbolic terrain of sacrifice, a memorial ground for those who died so their lineage could continue into the present. From this field of ancestral blood, Malerato rises. Her posture is commanding, positioned so that the viewer must look upward to meet her gaze. She stands not as a fragile child but as a fierce embodiment of lineage reclaimed. Her elevated stance confronts the weight of history and asserts the presence of a heritage that refused to be extinguished.

The cowhide she wears marks a profound shift from Omang Malerato II. Where the hide was once quiet, contained, and domestic, here it erupts. The textured wool breaks the confines of the canvas, spilling outward into the viewer’s physical space. The hair protrudes, pushing into our world with tangible force. Through this breaking of boundaries, Malerato becomes intrusive and unavoidable — a figure whose imagined reality threatens to merge with our own.

The painting suggests that the past cannot remain neatly framed or contained. The stories of those who were silenced insist on being remembered. In Omang Malerato III, Malerato stands as both descendant and witness, rising from a field of loss with authority.