‘I am not a child of myself’: The public murals of Malangatana Valente Ngwenya

The article examines the public murals of Malangatana Valente Ngwenya (1936–2011, born in Mozambique) and provides insight into the full range of his achievements as an artist. Close analysis of four works locates Malangatana and his artistic output in the context of his understanding of himself as a product of Mozambican history and culture, thereby, disrupting the binary between dominant existing constructs of himself as, on one hand, a unique individual artist and, on the other, an ‘artist of the people’ according to the definition of FRELIMO, Mozambique’s post-independence ruling party (1975–present). His capacity to maintain his artistic autonomy and agency in challenging circumstances and to insert political commentary in his works shows the power of the public mural as a socially and historically rooted medium. It invites consideration of Malangatana alongside his role models, los tres grandes, the Mexican muralists José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros.