Change is upon us! After lots of feedback over our last 23 issues, we've decided to make some minor changes. Welcome to a more streamlined issue of Melville Untold…

In today’s newsletter,

• A World Acclaimed Melville Artist 🎨

• A Virtual Meeting With Jo'burg Water 🚰

• Work parties at the Koppies ⛰️

Let’s go. 

— Aubrey Moloto, 

The Digest

Melville's Internationally Acclaimed Artist 🎨

We keep hearing how Melville is best known for its artists and home to some of the country's most iconic people. Few embody this statement as much as Martin Wenkidu - a deeply creative, multifaceted artist whose work intertwines music, poetry, and a unique spiritual perspective. Born in post-World War 2 South Africa, he has lived through countless pivotal moments in recent world history.

We visited Martin's studio across from Jo'burg Artist Market (27 Boxes). The home, affectionately known as Studio 79, transported us to another dimension. His wife Rae welcomed us into their new studio. We were surrounded by mountains of incredible artwork and paint-stained instruments with a smell of fresh paint and paper pulp in the air.

Martin haphazardly shuffled things around and squeezed in some chairs while Rae made us herbal teas. We got lost in stories of their artistic escapades and extraordinary life together - adventures from Natal to Sussex, trotting the globe before settling in our beloved Melville. This story deserves a biopic or lengthy book, but here's our attempt to squeeze it into a thousand words or so.

Early Life 

Born in Pretoria on Christmas Day in 1946, Martin was stillborn and resurrected at midday - special from the start. His family soon moved to the Eastern Cape and then settled in Natal. He excelled in maths and sciences at Durban High School and took art as an extra subject. Martin says that while maths and science were already defined, art wasn't. His interest began with the ambitious task of being the one to "define" it.

In matric, he handed in 50 art pieces for his final exams but only got a C. When an inspector told him he'd never become an artist, Martin left high school determined to become one of the great artists of our time.

A Diamond In The Rough

Martin attended Natal Technical College - an art school in Durban where he met Rae. She excelled in all her classes, studying graphic design while Martin studied fine arts.

Famous sculptor Mary Steinberg, who trained with the legendary Henry Moore, was one of their lecturers. They describe this as "a very exciting time in the 60s."

Rae orchestrated Martin's first significant moment of recognition. Their college held shows for senior students where Martin once submitted over 20 pieces. Delivering more than everyone else started becoming his trademark.

Instead of being displayed like others' work, Martin's pieces were placed on the floor. Rae noticed his work, examined it, and fetched top design student Des Cremer to see it. They saw something special in Martin's artwork.

The two brought a screen over and hung all Martin's pieces. People gathered, lingering longer and longer until even lecturers began discussing his work. From that day, Martin became “somewhat of a hero in the college." Students grew interested in his interpretations of life drawing. A star was born and Martin, Rae and Des became inseparable.

A Budding Artist  

Martin was fearless. He held the first multiracial exhibition with Rae and Des during their college days in the newly built Orient Bazaar calling it Graphic Poetry. Rae and Martin graduated in 1965, then married in '68. He then taught at the first multiracial school in Natal too.

At this exhibition, they discovered Omar Badsha, who later became a world-famous photographer, artist, activist and historian. Rae designed the poster, making Omar's name bold as a marketing strategy.

She became the brains behind their operation - organising exhibitions, handling promotion, interviews, and graphics. Rae focused on building the platform for Martin's work to shine.

They gained significant recognition and media attention from this exhibition but sold little because Martin and Des saw value in their work and priced their pieces high. Newspapers labelled one of his works the most expensive in the country, even though he was still completely unknown.

Martin continued creating and exhibiting frequently with Rae and other artists. They researched ancient man and worked on a collection of San bronze sculptures and paintings. This work got them invited to exhibit at the International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C. Nelson Mandela, de Klerk and the South African ambassador attended.

Martin and Rae couldn't afford the flight and never went. A friend attended in their place but tragically packed up the entire exhibition afterwards, took it to London and disappeared.

Facing Mortality & England 

Martin experienced a severe lung collapse from growing up near a power plant. He says that he died momentarily and come back to life, twice. During recovery, he believed he gained healing abilities and would visit other patients in the hospital.

This experience altered his life trajectory, leading him to England to become a non-denominational priest while his father supported his and Rae's studies financially.

They lived in Sussex amidst financial hardship. Both chuckled recalling how they survived on a local farm's windfall apples. Rae laughed remembering how she made apple crumble, apple tart, apple jam - anything possible with apples.

In England, Martin realised his true potential as an artist. During a small exhibition, a patron from their church, the Earl Castle Stuart, purchased one of Martin's artworks on the “Epic of Gilgamesh” from Raphael House for 1000 pounds. When the buyer tried to negotiate, Martin threatened to raise the price. The Earl Castle quickly accepted and arranged for prints at the Tate Gallery.

The World Stage 

After about 10 years in England, where Martin became a priest, they returned to South Africa. The priesthood wouldn't let him integrate his religious work with his art.

They had three children - a boy followed by two girls. The kids thrived in their creative home, all becoming brilliant artists themselves.

Martin recalls how the children didn't realise how hard he and Rae worked "to keep it all together." They travelled province to province putting on shows, selling prints and merchandise, conducting workshops - anything possible. The children helped enthusiastically.

Their son eventually became the family's agent, selling their works nationwide before moving to the States to promote them internationally.

Their big breakthrough came when invited to exhibit at Grand Central Station, featuring fine art and music. They sold many works there.

Success followed with exhibitions worldwide - New York, Holland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and South America. Rae even had her own major show in Germany.

The Artist Process 

Martin has always connected deeply with music. He would have pursued music and piano if not for his childhood polio.

His work shows a synesthetic relationship between sound and visual art. He claims, "I hear colour" and sees himself as "composing musical pieces." This explains his many iterations of certain works.

It resembles composing a song and rearranging it in different genres while maintaining its identity. That's how Martin Wenkidu's work feels.

His process begins with tiny abstract marks he calls "postage stamp miniatures." These small beginnings grow into complete works.

Poetry significantly influences his creative process. He initially wrote poems in books but later wrote directly on his pictures when he couldn't remember which poem matched which vision. He and Des Cremer named their first exhibition "graphic poetry" because both considered their work visual poems.

The figures from his miniature beginnings vary widely - from guitar players and Helen of Troy to symbolic representations of the human soul.

He describes his art as alchemy, now creating his own paints and surfaces. He showed us unique handmade paper hosting his latest pieces.

Still creating constantly, Martin now focuses on enlarging his works - from tiny "postage stamp" miniatures to A4, then to standard canvas size (1m by 600cm), and now aims to double or triple that.

Future Aspirations 

Martin Wenkidu wants viewers to make his art their own. He values personal connections with his work and enjoys hearing others' interpretations.

Driven by constant curiosity, he remains "ever searching" in his artistic exploration. Despite experimenting with many mediums, he stays open to the ongoing alchemical process of creation.

I Love Melville 

Martin and Rae settled in Melville for its "unique vibe and energy." Martin says he's travelled worldwide, and Melville ranks among the "very special places on earth." He compares its atmosphere to London's docklands and downtown New York's music scene during the 60s and 70s.

He feels a strong intuitive attraction to the energy of places, and Melville possesses a spatial quality that resonates with him. He characterises this vibe as spiritual, ethereal, musical and untouchable - "an elusive quality that is constantly out of reach."

If you enjoyed today’s in-depth read consider buying us a coffee. 

What’s Happenin’ 🤔

For all the regular activities, check out our last newsletter with the full weekly guide. From now on, we'll only cover one-off events and major changes to the regular weekly happenings.

Melville Weather For The Week ☔️ 

Wonder when the rain will stop…Sunday?

Wednesday 

23° 🌡️ 13°  | ⛅️ |  🌧️ 41% | NNW 9 km/h 💨

Thursday  

24° 🌡️ 13° | 🌤️ | 🌧️ 80% | W 7 km/h 💨

Friday 

24° 🌡️ 13° | 🌥️ |  🌧️ 40% | W 7 km/h 💨

Saturday 

25° 🌡️ 14° | 🌤️ |  🌧️ 21% | NE 7 km/h 💨

Sunday

27° 🌡️ 14° |  🌤️ |  🌧️ 8% | SW 4 km/h 💨

Monday 

27° 🌡️ 14° | 🌤️ |  🌧️ 42% | N 4 km/h 💨

Tuesday 

26° 🌡️ 13° | 🌤️ |  🌧️ 49% | NNW 7 km/h 💨

Live & Music Events Lowdown 🎸

Here are the one-off gigs happening this week. New approach, shorter and sweeter?

17/03 Wednesday | 9 pm - 10.30 pm | Smoking Kills Bar | Radio Kalahari Live in Melville | Tickets R120

21/03 Friday | 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm | Chiesa di PAZZO LUPi | Skyemoon Maria: Album & Vinyl Launch - Maria Mombelli, Clem Carr, Justin Badenhorst | Tickets R180 online, R230 door

21/03 Friday | 6.30 pm | Smoking Kills Bar | Not Another Night Out - Pyramid Scheme, Indie Dog, Highway Apostles | Tickets R80, R100 door

22/03 Saturday | 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm | Chiesa di PAZZO LUPi | Cellz: Sonic Bridges Tour - Crunchy Sweater & Surprise Opener | Tickets R180

For more updates as the week goes on, visit our instagram page @snapson7th

Civil Matters 👷‍♀️

Virtual Meeting With Jo'burg Water

Councillor Kyle Jacobs invites the community to an online public meeting he has arranged with representatives from Johannesburg Water.

The councillor encourages everyone to join and pose questions as Joburg Water presents on the infrastructural challenges affecting our water supply. They'll also outline the measures taken to repair and improve infrastructure for a more reliable water supply.

Date: 20th Of March 2025 

Venue: Microsoft Teams 

Time: 6 pm - 7.30 pm

The link will be shared to most Melville social media groups. We’ll make sure to post on our instagram story as soon as its out as well. www.instagram.com/snapson7th

Melville Koppies Check-in ⛰️

This weekend is work-party week on the koppies. Elsje will be spearheading weeding on Melville Koppies Central with a group of volunteers. Meet up in the car park at Marks Park on Judith Road if you'd like to join them.

At the same time, a big work party will be happening on Melville Koppies West as well, headed by Brandon and David. We'll meet at the usual spot for the Monthly Walk With Dogs in the cul-de-sac at the top of Arundel Road.

Both parties will gather at 7:45 am for an 8 am start.

Contact: David at 082 789 1265 for details on the West team's party and Wendy for details on Central at 079 532 0083

Thank you! 🙏

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Stay vibrant, stay authentic, and stay Melville-strong!

'til next Tuesday, 

Selamat tinggal!✌️