“Facing the Future,” a multimedia “constellation” in the words of its creator, South African artist Lhola Amira, brings something new and unexpected to the de Young Museum in San Francisco. It is a window into a spiritual experience aimed at healing African and Diaspora communities from the effects of colonialism, land dispossession and racism, while incorporating and drawing meaning from the acclaimed collection of African art in the museum.
It is the first time that Amira’s work, which uses the pronoun them, has been shown in the United States.
A notice at the entrance indicates that it is a spiritual space. The visitor enters a small gallery surrounded by impressive examples from the museum’s art collection, including a splendid Mali vessel, the Dogon, depicting the creation of the world.
A 12th to 15th century statue from Djenné, in the Niger River’s inner delta, depicts a majestic woman, with a child strapped to her back, carrying an offering to the god Oshun. In another case they are striking male and female figures.
Adjacent to this gallery is Amira’s multimedia environment, “Philisa: Zinza Mphefumlo Wami” (which translates to “May my breath be healed, my spirit be steady”), a gateway to healing through contemplation and ritual. A bowl contains sacred salt, which guests must place in their hands and then return to the decorated bowl; and large jugs of illuminated water mark the space. Large panels of patterned fabric in brown and black on a field of white with gold fringes are suspended from the ceiling. Long strings of multicolored beads, made by circles of women’s beads, also hang from above.
Another eye-catching element of the space hangs from above. A letter from a graduate student at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, to sociologist and civil rights activist WEB Du Bois, asks if black people cry, and if so, under what general conditions. There is no indication of a response from Du Bois, but one panel reveals how, in 1991, the poet Lucille Clifton responded:
He does
She does
they live
they love
they try
they get tired
they flee
They fight
they bleed
they water
they moan
They cry
They cry
they die
they do
they do
they do
In Amira’s words, the soundtrack of this section, “el grito negro”, is a cultural lament that arises from unresolved pain and the search for peace.
The galleries also display magnificent African masks and headdresses, furniture and statues, many made to serve religious or spiritual functions. Some of the permanent collection items on view focus on ancestors, spirituality and healing.
In one corner of a gallery is “Irmandade: The Shape of Water in Pindorama,” a single-channel video projection produced and directed by Amira, who is shown walking through an Afro-Brazilian state, Bahia, which played an important role in the Middle Passage, the period when slaves were transported from Africa to the Americas. Moving with silent intensity across the terrain, Amira performs acts of spiritual healing on the water, trees, and earth in the video.
In one sequence, Amira kneels down and slowly washes the feet of some of the city’s female inhabitants. The act was repeated at the installation’s inaugural reception last month.
“Lhola Amira: Facing the Future” launches a new program of special exhibitions that will interpret the collection of African art as a living and evolving practice through the lens of contemporary art, according to Natasha Becker, the Museums of Fine Arts’ first curator. San Francisco Arts. African Art, who has held the position since December 2020.
“Lhola Amira: Facing the Future” continues through December 3 at the de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco. General admission (excluding special exhibits) is $15 for adults; Visit www.famsf.org.
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