esther mahlangu's mural at serpentine marks her first public UK artwork

serpentine presents site-specific mural by esther Mahlangu

This Autumn, Serpentine Galleries has unveiled a new site-specific mural by Ndebele visual artist Esther Mahlangu. On view in the garden at Serpentine North from October 4th, 2024 to September 28th, 2025, the monumental vibrant painting, supported by BMW Group and other institutions, celebrates concepts of community and unity. Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, which translates directly from Ndebele as ‘I am because you are’, marks the artist’s first public artwork in the UK.

Esther Mahlangu, Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, 2024. Serpentine North Garden, 4 October 2024 – 28 September 2025 | image © George Darrell, courtesy Serpentine and The Melrose Gallery

reflecting Ndebele shapes and patterns

Celebrated for her brightly colored geometric paintings rooted in matrilineal Ndebele culture, Dr Esther Mahlangu (b. 1935, South Africa) has been creating large-scale and site-specific works for over eight decades. The artist began painting at the age of ten, learning the Ndebele techniques and visual language of covering houses in bold patterns from her mother and grandmother, as seen in her large-scale mural at the Serpentine garden.

‘When we visited Esther in South Africa, ]ne of the first things she told us is that painting is in her heart and in her blood; painting is like breathing, something she has always done. […] She created a repertoire of recurring shapes that eventually migrated from the walls to canvases, and sculptures. And these forms actually are signs of an entire cosmology, which she condensed into an artistic language that was born from her village,’ explains Serpentine’s artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist.

image © George Darrell

Mahlangu uses natural pigments mixed with clay, soil and cow dung to paint directly on the exteriors of structures in her village. Rather than using stencils and tape to achieve lines and shapes, she paints by hand with chicken feathers and an array of different brushes. The artist also works with acrylic paints on canvas, which allows her to explore different scales and a broader color palette. Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, presented in the garden at Serpentine North is painted over sixteen wooden panels, depicting Ndebele shapes and patterns outlined with a black border.

the painting is presented in the garden of Serpentine North | image © George Darrell