Malangatana. The Eye of the Crocodile

This is the first full-length book about Malangatana. It is an original contribution to the literature of decolonization and antiracism. Richard Gray's work gives fresh insights into the life and artistic achievements of a groundbreaking artist who helped trigger the historical process by which western art and culture can no longer claim universality. He gives priority to Malangatana's words (to him and others) and a unique set of interviews with Malangatana's family and friends carried out at his birthplace in Mozambique and around the world. Thanks to the generosity of the Malangatana Valente Ngwenya Foundation, which curates the artist's legacy, Gray also bases the book on unprecedented access to archive material. Malangatana's archive at his atelier/family home in Maputo contains his hitherto unexamined correspondence and personal collection of artworks. Gray's chapters have sections about relevant examples. Among the highlights are iconic but long unexhibited paintings of the mid-1980s. Equally rare photographs accompany the text.