Abstract Art by African Artists: a curated collection

 A selection of more than 25 modern abstract art pieces from East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa and Central Africa from museums around the world, via Google Arts and Culture.

Hlayisani

Detail from Ndlulamithi Redux.

Akashinga

Detail from Dawn of the Eagle.

Sheltering Wings

Second in the "Reappropriations" series. This painting is a response to someone's fantasy painting of a white European-looking angel with a lion. The angel in this illustration has an outfit and coiffure inspired by Ovambo fashions.

The first in the series is Melody.

"What's wrong with painting European characters with lions? Weren't there lions in Europe in ancient times?"

Melody

Inspired by, but NOT claiming to be an accurate representation of, the people and wildlife of South Africa. The lady's attire is influenced by Xhosa clothing designs. The birds are inspired by malachite kingfishers. As for the gemsbok, you can read the rest of the story below:

Mythology, Fantasy and Scifi Illustrations Inspired by Sub-Saharan Africa

A collection of images from novels, children's books and animated films. Click to learn more about the artists:

Cheetah Weeping

Inspired by the Zulu folktale concerning the origin of the black lines running down a cheetah's face from its eyes. These lines were the tear tracks of a mother cheetah weeping for her lost cubs. The young cheetahs had been stolen by a hunter who wanted to train them to hunt for him.

When the mother's grief came to the attention of an old man from the hunter's village, he informed the village elders of the hunter’s conduct. The villagers expelled the hunter. The old man returned the cheetah cubs to their mother, reuniting the family. But the tear tracks remained on the cheetah’s face as a reminder to hunters not to do wrong again.

The moral condemnation for keeping hunting cheetahs is certainly not universal. Listed here are a few (not all) of the peoples that had tamed cheetahs for hunting:

Dawn of the Eagle

Inspired by giant mecha anime and the soapstone eagles from the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, a royal city active in the 11th-14th centuries. Robot design influenced by the African fish eagle, which is called "hungwe" in the Shona language..

Many thanks to the kind friends who assisted with modeling and critique.

• T-shirt available on Printify!
• Stickers, laptop skins, and more available on RedBubble.
• 11x8.5 print available on storenvy!

Ndlulamithi Redux

Inspired by the late Ndlulamithi, a famous large elephant whose name means "taller than the trees" in the Tsonga language. (See Kruger National Park - The Magnificent Seven.)

Additional influences: Japanese giant mecha comics and anime. :-)

Many thanks to the kind friends who helped with modeling and critique :-)

Get the print on storenvy!

Also available on RedBubble as stickers, iPad skins and more.