The Bloom of the Corpse Flower
Simphiwe Ndzube, The Bloom of the Corpse Flower, 2020. Acrylic paint on canvas and mixed media; 94-1/2 x 79 in. Denver Art Museum: Funds from the Contemporary Collectors’ Circle with additional support from Vicki and Kent Logan, Catherine Dews Edwards and Philip Edwards, Craig Ponzio, Ellen and Morris Susman, and Bryon Adinoff and Trish Holland, 2021.37. © Simphiwe Ndzube.
The Bloom of the Corpse Flower offers the viewer a portal into the artist's magical world. According to the artist, he began painting it after a moment of longing for and missing home. The figure on the boat is embarking on a journey, perhaps in search of freedom. The land is fertile-notice the oversize corpse flowers, abundant water, lush terrain, and clouds dripping with heavenly rain. Ndzube references the corrugated houses in the township where he grew up near Cape Town but also creates a brightly colored, surreal scene. He combines fantasy with his own personal history, embracing both optimism and resistance.
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