George Lilanga (1934 – 27 June 2005) was a Tanzanian painter and sculptor, active from the late 1970s and until the early 21st century. He belonged to the Makonde people and lived most of his life in Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania. Alongside other African contemporary artists, his work was exhibited in international art shows, including Africa Remix 2004 or African Art Now in 2005. Through these exhibitions and the ensuing interest of art critics and collectors of contemporary African art, Lilanga became the internationally most renowned artist of Tanzania. In the beginning, he worked in the Makonde artistic tradition of carving sculptures from wood. After having been exposed to other modern artists at the cultural centre Nyumba ya Sanaa (House of Art), he transformed typical sculptural forms into two-dimensional art works like paintings, etchings or panels. With this innovation, he developed his own style out of the Shetani (devils) figures of the modern Makonde sculptures. His paintings are characteristic for his colourful and ironic style, reflecting everyday life in Tanzania as he saw it.
Biography The exact place and date of Lilanga's birth are uncertain, although he said that he was born in 1934 in the village of Kikwetu, Masasi district, in the Mtwara Region of southern Tanzania.
Lilanga's parents were both Makonde (an ethnic group living both in Mozambique as well as Tanzania). His father was an agricultural labourer, who worked on the sisal plantations, and he had two brothers, who died before him. Lilanga attended primary school for only three years. In the works of his latter years, which were dedicated to village life, he returned many times to representation of his memories of happy moments, when school students received their diplomas. In 1970, Lilanga decided to move to Dar es Salaam, where there were greater opportunities for selling sculptures and practising contemporary art. In 1971, he found his first employment, thanks to his uncle, Augustino Malaba, an already well-known sculptor, who would be his future collaborator. He started as a night guard at the House of Art (Nyumba ya Sanaa), a cultural centre for the development of African art and craftsmanship in Dar es Salaam. In 1982, he created wooden doors with colourful bunk shetani figures for this cultural centre. After the Nyumba ya Sanaa was destroyed, these doors were bought and restored by a German collector and are documented in the book George Lilanga: The Doors of Nyumba ya Sanaa. As a modern artist in his own right, he joined other artists like Robino Ntila, Augustino Malaba and Patrick Francis Imanjama. He also began to create paintings on batik cloth, on goatskin and on metal sheets for the finishing of railings and gates of the centre. Like other modern Tanzanian artists, Lilanga frequented the art circles of the increasingly successful Tingatinga school, but always maintained his own style. After 1972, he became essentially a painter, and some of his works were presented at Dar es Salaam's National Museum in 1974. Lilanga's talents were recognized by Maryknoll Sister Jean Pruitt, an American aid worker promoting Tanzanian art. In 1977, he made his first journey outside Africa, travelling to New York, where he had a show at the Maryknoll Sisters' Ossining Center in New York State. He stayed for a brief time in Manhattan, selling prints made on paper or cardboard, standing on street corners.
Health issues and death In 1974, he was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. "I was always very tired, unable to follow my normal daily routine. Therefore, I decided to go in for a complete checkup in the local hospital. On that occasion, the doctors determined that I had diabetes." In the late 1990s, his diabetes worsened with severe complications. Lilanga was forced to reorganise his work, putting together an atelier that included numerous young pupils and his own relatives, who were also sculptors and painters. They were closely supervised by Lilanga, and began to take over part of the work that Lilanga could no longer easily do by himself. In 2000, the combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease led to a rapid deterioration in Lilanga's health. Due to gangrene, in October 2000 his right leg had to be amputated. In December of that year, the left leg was also amputated. Lilanga thus had to use a wheelchair; but after returning to his home in January 2001, he resumed his work. In 2001, due to his serious physical impairments, he returned to small works with ink on paper and small goatskins 22.5 x 22.5 cm in size, which could be done more quickly and easily. With the assistance of his atelier, however, he also continued to create paintings of considerable size, and until shortly before his death, he produced large canvases, Masonites and tondos. Lilanga died on Monday 27 June 2005, in Dar es Salaam, in his house-atelier at Mbagala.
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