Title: Snow on Location
Medium: Oil on board
Dated: 1964
Signed
Unframed: 71cm x 86cm
Framed: 90cm x 160cm
At a retrospective exhibition held at the Standard Bank Gallery titled, Ephraim Ngatane: Symphony of Soweto, in 2010, David Smith (Knight 2010:1), art critic for the Guardian (UK) commented on Ngatane’s work: “Ngatane walks that tightrope from which many falls. He captures the warmth of township people, even with a tinge of nostalgia, yet never glosses over the hardship and degradation represented by shacks, dirt roads and stray dogs. He eulogizes the poor but never glamorizes poverty.”
This sentiment is beautifully represented in this painting by Ngatane. When you look at the image you see children playing in the snow in one of the townships on the outskirts of Johannesburg wearing short sleeved clothing and no shoes. Clearly this represents poverty, but also in many ways joy and fun. There is however a very dark sinister image in the centre of the painting – the snow becomes a monster like figure. This in my view represents the Ngatane’ knowledge on living in these very terribly housing conditions with no proper winter clothing during the cold winter.
Snow does not commonly fall during winter in Johannesburg because it is a summer rainfall area in South Africa. This was a specific incident where it snowed in Johannesburg during the winter of 1964.
