Imvuselelo: The Revival | Stanford Humanities Center

photograph from the collection of a Hand-printed silver gelatin print

Gallery

Imvuselelo: The Revival

Imvuselelo: The Revival includes photographs of some of the 15-18 million members of the African Zionism movement, a Christian practice, unrelated to Jewish nationalism, which centers healing.

5 people crouch around a small light. The two people closest to the camera have crosses embroidered on their clothes. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Abaprofethi, Mamelodi* (2008), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

A man with a long cross stands in the center of the portrait. He is barefoot, standing on large rocks. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Bhutiza* (2016), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

3 shadowy figures stand in the background of a photo — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Imfihlakalo, New Years Eve, Driefontein* (2015–16), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa.* Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

A group of bald men in white clothing. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Inkonzo Yokunikela, Twelve at Ferrum High School, Newcastle* (2018), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

Half of a portrait of two figures. The portrait is cut off at the two peoples' waists. The person on the left is wearing dark clothes; the person on the right is wearing white clothes. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *In Time, A Morning After Umlindelo* (2016), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

Landscape portrait of a dirt road with a fenced-in field to the left. In the right corner of the image is a person's back. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Isimakade* (2015), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

Four women in religious garb stand next to a car with an open door. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Khensani, Sarah, Ntombi and Phindile* (2017), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa.* Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

Black and white portrait of a figure. Their face is obscured by a burn or tear in the middle of the photograph. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *KwaMaseko eShabalala* (2017), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

Portrait of a woman in front of a textured background. She is wearing a head wrap, a white shirt, and an overcoat. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *The late Sweetmama Mathebula* (2007), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

A man in a white button-up shirt stands waist-deep in a pond. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Mfundisi Ndlangamandla eFernie* (2002), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

A group of mixed-gender people in religious garb eating together. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Nhlapho, Mama Thebu, Mama Ndlovu, Sweetmama, KwaMabunda, Fernie* (2009), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

A woman in white clothing stands before a grassy plain. A drum hangs from her arm. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Nozipho Mtshali of Heroes of Christ* (2013), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

A group of figures in all-white clothing stand with their backs to the camera. One person in darker clothing squats and faces the camera. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Ukubhabhadiswa Umama Zulu neBandla* (2003), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

Blurry black-and-white photo of men in white clothing. The man in the center of the photo is holding a long stick or staff. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Ukuhlonywa Kwezikhali, Mfundisi Mathebula* (2006), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

Sabelo Mlangeni, Ukulinda, Costa du sol, Maputo (2008), from the series Umlindelo wawaKholwa. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

Portrait of a young man with a shaved head standing in front of trees. He is wearing white clothing with a darker belt and sash. His facial expression is serious. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Umgaxo, Siyabonga Ndaba* (2016), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

A slightly blurry photo of five figures standing in front of a dark background. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Umkhuleko Wabagulayo, Mama Khoza, Mfundisi Mathebula, KwaNyandeni* (2007), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

A group of figures in all-white clothing stand in a straight line, facing the camera. In the background is a brick wall and a white building. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *UMkhumbi KaNoah, Sgonyela, Thembi, Ntongo, Nkosi, Enkampane* (2011), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

Grainy photograph of figures in white clothing taken at a distance. The figures are at the bottom of the photo. The majority of the image is dark background. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Umlindelo wamaKholwa* (2016), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Hand-printed silver gelatin print. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

Photograph of a woman in patterned fabrics, taken from the shoulders down. She is barefoot and uses a cane. Behind her, a little boy looks off into the distance. — Sabelo Mlangeni, *Umthandazi* (2008), from the series *Umlindelo wawaKholwa*. Image courtesy of the artist and blank projects, Cape Town © Sabelo Mlangeni.

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Colloquy

Photography and the Archive in South Africa

Curators

Joel Cabrita

Zoe Edelman

This Colloquy aims to create an archive of the recent residency of South African photographer, Sabelo Mlangeni, at Stanford University, provoking discussion around the intersection between the academy and artistic practice, as well as providing a long-term record of Stanford’s engagement with an important artist. In doing so, we provide an important intervention towards better understanding the public role of the University, and, in particular, its role as a patron of and interlocutor with the arts, especially work produced by Black artists from the African continent.

Our Colloquy focuses on Imvuselelo: The Revival, an exhibition of work by Mlangeni shown at the Cantor Arts Center (September 27, 2023 - January 21, 2024). As part of Imvuselelo, Mlangeni turned his lens towards his own South African Zionist church community (a church distinct from Jewish nationalism) in his rural hometown Driefontein, revealing core realities of post-apartheid life for Black communities across South Africa. The work also pays homage to the church’s American roots—currently withering as the number of American Zionist practitioners declines—fulfilling Mlangeni’s desire to “bring these hymns of revival to America” and laying bare the relationship between his religious practice and decolonial thought.

This Colloquy, which includes materials from Mlangeni’s show at the Cantor and the recordings of classes and public talks and lectures, is designed to be an introduction to Mlangeni’s body of work and to highlight the accompanying themes he vividly depicts in his photographs: gender, sexuality, religion, and race through the lens of a post-apartheid South Africa. This archive is also intended to be a long-term record of the residency and exhibition, contributing to the emerging field of “exhibition history,” and offering evidence of Stanford’s collaboration with Mlangeni for future generations of historians, artists, and the general public.

Finally, the Colloquy invites visitors to reflect upon the academy’s own relationship with Black communities, both near and far. The relationship between academia and art is one historically marred by a culture of elitism and racism; infused with complex questions about what is considered art and deemed worthy of display. But our Colloquy also speaks to the productive potential of artist-academia collaborations, revealing the benefit of on-campus residencies to artists’ careers, to academic practice, and to campus student life. As you examine this archive of an artistic residency on a university campus, consider the complexity of the relationship between academia and art, especially art made by Black, brown, queer, and gender-marginalized individuals.

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