Albert Munyai

Biography

Albert Munyai lives in the area of Tengwe, Venda, overlooking the Pile Mountains, a majestic structure of natural architecture that lets the spirit free. Here stands the round thatch house and rough pole structure of a studio, which tries to house Albert’s vast imagination, his wife and children, farm animals and sculptures.

Albert hasn’t got time for small talk; it’s either practice or mystical, or both, as he gestures with his arms in the air, relating his universe or stories of how he got to where he is. He is deeply passionate about life and art, and for Albert, there exists no difference between the two. His works of wood are spiritually allegorical or symbolic; the carved lines dancing as vividly in explanation as Albert’s narrative hands. He is one who seeks through contemplation and self surrender, a union in the Divine.

EXHIBITIONS

Market Theatre, Johannesburg
Stockholm, Sweden
Belgium
Netherlands
Sanlam Gallery, Cape Town
Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
Venda University
Johannesburg Art Gallery 2001/2002 (Nominated for the Daimler Chrysler Award for South African Sculpture 2002)

SHAPESHIFTER
by Stephanie Donau

Albert Munyai lives in the area of Tengwe, Venda, overlooking the Pile Mountains, a tall, majestic structure of natural architecture that lets the spirit free. Here stands the round thatch house and rough pole structure of a studio, which tries to house Albert’s vast imagination, his wife and children, farm animals and sculptures.

Albert hasn’t got time for small talk; it’s either practical or mystical or both, as he gestures with his arms in the air, relating his universe or stories of how he got to where he is. He is deeply passionate about life and art, and for Albert there exists no difference between the two. His works of wood are spiritually allegorical or symbolic; the carved lines dancing as vividly in explanation as Albert’s narrative hands. He is one who seeks through contemplation and self-surrender, a union into the Divine. The eyes of Albert Munyai see all things filled with this Divine, from trees and rocks to worms, and blades of grass. Through these eyes, Albert sees objects in wood and shapeshifts through using his mallet and chisels. Once he starts work on a piece, Albert turns from mystic philosopher into an over-drive doer. Watching him at work, one almost senses a surrendering to a flow of energy that just moves through him. This is very much the way in which Albert views his creative inspiration, as something which is felt and not thought.

His journey as an artist has been one of solitude, his nature and sense of being has branded him as a non-conformist within rural society in earlier days. But it was this nature and sense of being that pushed him through these times of intense emotional and financial hardship. Today, Albert’s spirit soars, regardless of opinion and he has had many successes both personally and professionally.

Albert absorbs his existence deeply, both consciously and sub-consciously. He is a man who believes in the spiritual apprehension of truths beyond the building-blocks of logic and understanding

This is manifested in Albert’s work; carved fish swimming in counter-punctual rhythm in the shape of a chair, xylophone keys in the shape of men and women suspended on the back of a cow, its carved head covered with real skins, and other works of the imagination that are full of hidden meaning, mysterious and awe-inspiring.

THE SPIRITUAL EYE
by Pat Hopkins

Tradition has within it a force -­ a force which creates the style of an entire civilization. Titus Burkhardt.

Venda wood sculptor Albert Munyai believes that when God created the universe he was making art. In that broad canvas he gave each plant a rustle, insects a sound, animals a call, every bird a song and people different colours, shapes and languages.
His garden would have been so boring had it just been yellow and contained one note, said Munyai, spreading his arms to the heavens. “But
God wanted it all because this was His image -­ all of it. Isn’t it so beautiful? And He gave everything in this masterpiece the power to live life to the fullest. It is so sad that we fail Him in that”.

Munyai was born in 1958 in a rondavel in a village nestling at the foot of the lush, majestic Pile Mountains of the Northern Province and, as was customary, stayed with his mother for three months in the dark, smoky hut. His first recollection after he emerged is of his grandfather making exquisite woodcarvings, and he recalls sitting at the old man¹s feet learning the craft. And he has a missing finger to prove that some of the lessons were painful.

Sitting there, he came to realize that art was a universal language -­ a form of expression flowing from the spirit world, through the artist and to the people in much the same way as healing powers are communicated from the ancestors through the traditional healer in African custom. The artist was thus a hidden treasure, the spiritual eye, a receiver of visions and energy to be translated into objects that all can understand. Munyai knew instinctively that this was why God had placed him on Earth. “Mine is a spiritual inspiration, I’ve always known that”, he said, speaking fast. “I’m a piece of God”.

Even though he had talent, others were not convinced of his purpose. His father thought he should go to school, but Munyai kept running away,­ impatient at having to sit in a classroom while powerful visions were acting on him with an intensity impossible to ignore. This branded him a rebel in one of the most conservative rural societies in the country, and the path he walked as a young man was often a lonely one, filled with hardship ­- a sacrifice he was prepared to make because he had faith in his spirit.

Unlike others with a predetermined mission, Munyai never denied or fought his calling -­ he embraced it from the outset. His spirit is his friend, a part of him, and he even eats less to give it more room for manoeuvre in his body, so that it can build up the energy of ten men before it is released on a piece of wood, with the same sweat and emotion that accompanies childbirth. It is an ardour that gives this small, intense man the impression of greater size.

“Albert hasn’t got time for small talk; it’s either practical or mystical or both, as he gestures with his arms in the air, relating his universe or stories of how he got to where he is”, wrote Stephanie Donau in Shapeshifter. “He is deeply passionate about life and art and for Albert there exists no difference between the two. His works of wood are spiritually allegorical or symbolic; the carved lines dancing as vividly in explanation as Albert’s narrative hands. He is one who seeks through contemplation and self-surrender a union into the Divine”.

”The eyes of Albert Munyai see all things filled with this Divine, from trees and rocks to worms and blades of grass. Through these eyes, Albert sees objects in wood and shapeshifts through using his mallet and chisels. Once he starts work on a piece, Albert turns from mystic philosopher into an overdrive doer. Watching him at work, one almost senses a surrendering to a flow of energy that just moves through him. This is very much the way in which Albert views his creative inspiration, as something which is felt and not thought”.  

Munyai lives in a hut on top of a hill -­ believing things can only reach their potential when they grow at the highest point. Round him run his daughters and chickens, as he frantically sculpts an enormous chair under a tarpaulin. Depicted on it are animals, mystical figures and a woman peering to the heavens from the backrest. Behind it is a cow with xylophone keys in the shape of men and women suspended on the back, and a table on which fish swim rhythmically on the surface.

”Man cannot live without water”, he explained. “All across Africa it is the most precious resource. It is of vast spiritual significance; water moves and flows, it is the giver and sustainer of life. In Venda, the custodian of water is the fish and its depiction pays homage to that which protects water, ensuring the prosperity and well being of the community”.

As he finishes at the end of the day, he closes his eyes and runs his hand over the works to feel what still needs to be done. Then he puts on a jacket and walks down to a rough pole structure that is the beginning of a studio he is building on a rocky outcrop. This is not only to display his work, but a place where the community can gather and he can teach the local youth how to fulfill their purpose in life. Sticking out of the centre is a huge log with a ladder propped against it, which he climbed to sit atop the pole.

“Spiritual matters are more powerful at night”, he said. “This is where I receive my strongest messages ­ particularly from the stars and the moon”. And tomorrow, when he goes out looking for that piece of wood on which to render his vision, he will take seeds to plant wherever he finds suitable soil. It is his way of giving something back to the Divine Earth for sacrificing a part of itself.