Esther Mahlangu is a South African artist and was born on 11th November 1935. She is from the Ndebele nation.
She is famous for her bold, colourful artworks inspired by the traditional art of the Ndebele people. Mahlangu began painting when she was ten years old and was taught the Ndebele practice of mural painting by her mother and grandmother.
It is traditional for the women in the Ndebele community to paint the outside of their houses. They use natural pigments mixed with cow dung, and bright acrylic paints outlined with black lines, to make large geometric patterns on the outside walls of their homes.
Mahlangu uses elements from the traditional Nedebele houses in her paintings. These traditional designs feature complex symmetry and repeating patterns in geometric compositions using rectangles and triangles.
We looked at some of Esther Mahlangu’s artworks and then created our own geometric designs inspired by her!
