Pain in the Mountains

Pain in the Mountains depicts a circumcision in KwaZulu-Natal. When it was first shown it generated some controversy since it depicted a ritual that many consider to be sacrosanct and not open to public scrutiny.

It was later shown as part of an exhibition about the HIV/AIDS crisis and the use of anti-retrovirals in South Africa. The painting demonstrates Makhoba’s willingness to address cultural and social TABOOS and to do so in large and graphic painterly gestures.

Artwork courtesy of Tatham Art Gallery.