Ishana Sen Das

Cinga Samson “Ukuphuthelwa”

Cinga Samson’s exhibit at The White Cube embodies the isiXhosa word Ukuphuthelwa, which in English means “unable to sleep.” Samson uses brighter shades of grey and white sparingly to convey figures against dark backgrounds, as though the scenes are illuminated by only the moon. This careful use of color and light give the impression of a dream or a memory imprinted in the mind. His work features characters with bright white, pupil-less eyes, adding to the insomniac feeling of his paintings. 

In Ukuwelwa komda, the composition is reminiscent of a renaissance-style painting because of how the figures are posed across multiple layers, each with their own story. The characters all feel deeply engrossed in what they’re doing, almost as if they are in a trance or carrying out a ritual. The painting, like others of Samson’s, depicts a guardian-like bird at the top of the painting, looking down at the humans. 

As the White Cube’s press release explains, Ukuphuthelwa does not have the same negative connotation that insomnia has in English: “for Samson, sleeplessness is not a condition to be cured, but rather a state of spiritual alertness, a sensitivity that deepens in the dark.” Through Samson’s eyes, we experience this sensitivity in the way that our eyes adjust to low light, but also through the level of detail that he captures and the care that he takes in storytelling.