Our tomorrow, yesterday’s story, 2026
Acrylic
35 cm x 26,5 cm
Artist’s Statement
Our tomorrow, yesterday’s story is a contemporary acrylic painting that reimagines the ideals of the Rococo period through a South African lens. The artwork depicts a Malume seated comfortably within a Parisian café setting, enjoying tea and magwinya (fatcakes) from an elegant white tea set. His relaxed posture and content expression suggest a moment free from worry, echoing the Rococo fascination with pleasure, leisure, and the enjoyment of life’s finer moments.
In the background, visible through the café window, appears The Swing, one of the most iconic paintings of the Rococo era. This reference serves as a bridge between past and present, linking historical ideals of fantasy, abundance, and escapism with contemporary experiences of travel, aspiration, and cultural exchange.
The painting centres the Black subject, positioning the Malume within a visual narrative from which people of African descent have often been excluded. By placing him confidently in a Parisian setting, the work challenges historical limitations of representation and suggests a world in which cultural movement, travel, and belonging transcend geographical and historical boundaries. It reflects the reality that today’s South Africans can imagine themselves in global spaces just as people from other parts of the world can engage with and appreciate South African cultures.
The figure of the Malume carries additional significance. Within many communities, uncles are storytellers, keepers of memory, and guides who share lessons from the past while inspiring younger generations to imagine the future. In this artwork, he becomes a symbol of continuity between generations, someone who carries yesterday’s stories while sitting comfortably within tomorrow’s possibilities.
Ultimately, Our tomorrow, yesterday’s story celebrates cultural connection, representation, and the freedom to imagine ourselves beyond inherited boundaries. By merging the visual language of Rococo with contemporary Black identity, the work invites viewers to consider how the dreams of the past can become the realities of the present and the foundations of the future.
