“If a bird believes it is an eagle long enough, it will eventually end up soaring like one.” – Matshona Dhliwayo
Much of what this existence is for us as humans can be understood as and synthesized into a desperate desire to understand who we are in this ocean of chaos called life. Discovering who we are and how we fit into things is a subject which has fascinated, artists, spiritualists, psychologists and a variety of great thinkers since the beginning of time. It is a subject equally as important to artist, Phillip Mabote, as his is an artistic practice which interrogates the questions surrounding his own origin story.
Mabote’s presentations of eagles
bound by rope all serve as metaphorical representations of a man’s search for
his biological mother. These works are as much rooted in a need to discover his
birth mother as a means to unraveling the mysteries of who Phillip Mabote is as
a person; as much as they are about being eternally bound to continuing on a
journey until he has found his mother and found the answers he needs to bring
solace to both his and his children’s lives. It is for this reason that Mabote
represents his relentless searching with
depictions of eagles; they’re hunting abilities and keen eyesight, become clues
to understanding not only the extent of time dedicated to his search but also
alludes to the amount of detail given to his efforts. Introduced initially in a
2015 piece titled Never give up, which is a depiction of a silhouetted female
figure and the first appearance of an eagle. Mabote’s inception of this foreign
bird of prey is meant to symbolise the tireless pursuit of the unknown.
Mabote’s eagles exist on multiple
levels, apart from it serving as an indicator of his constant searching. This
foreign bird is simultaneously tied to his grandmother who took care of him
during his formative years, and who was later discovered to not be a
blood-linked family member. There are also glimpses of spirituality being drawn
upon, as references are made to African ancestry through the symbolic use of
bees; - this makes it easier for us as viewers to make correlations to this and
the spiritual significance eagles play in cultures such as those of the Native
American peoples. The multifaceted nature of the works created by Phillip
Magote thus open themselves up to a span of readings from those of the
spiritual to those bound to more tangible realities. Magote’s works no longer
exist as representations of mere eagles, bees or fligted creatures but exist as
metaphorical compasses in search of numerous signifies of a true north. It is,
however, worthwhile to note that apart from these works solely serving as
illustrations of his own personal struggles, Mabote, aims to use his creations
as unifies to those facing similar challenges.