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The Rehearsal: Umbhorho

George Pemba
The Rehearsal: Umbhorho, 1987
Oil on board
Work: 38.5 x 53 cm

George Pemba painted a range of subjects: portraits of individuals from a variety of backgrounds, images drawn from Xhosa and Sotho traditions, and landscapes. He is, however, best known for his township scenes. His subject is the poignant social realism of township life - through what could, superficially, be perceived as a simplistic reflection of life in the New Brighton Township and Eastern Cape surrounds. He painted the harsh story of life in a South African township at the height of Apartheid's oppression. As a social historian Pemba interpreted the customs and living conditions of township dwellers of the Eastern Cape during apartheid, revealing processes of modernization in which a resilient black culture survives extreme oppression. The paintings, however, were not couched in the socialist realism of revolutionary 20th century propaganda art, but rather in an impressionistic style in keeping with the trends set by Eastern Cape artists such as Dorothy Kay, with whom Pemba painted in the 1950's.