Albertina Sisulu was a mother of the nation whose efforts during apartheid instilled pride and resistance in her people to fight against the oppressive system. 

These were the words of Mpho Ngwenya, a Soweto-based artist whose larger-than-life canvas painting depicts Sisulu against the backdrop of a village representing where she grew up, a clinic symbolising her career as a nurse and Orlando, to represent her home.

Ngwenya said he grew up idolising Sisulu. He said he interacted with her at her home in Orlando and took stock of the lessons she taught him. 

It's these lessons that inspired Ngwenya to show his appreciation for Sisulu through his artwork. 

“Mama Sisulu was a mother to all of us. My mother used to work in her household and did laundry for her. Her house was a meeting place for me and other young people who believed in what she and other stalwarts fought against,” said Ngwenya. 

“Those moments, when she would talk to us and give us advice, left an everlasting impression on me. I worked on this piece of art to commemorate her legacy and what she did for us.”

The art piece was handed over to Sisulu’s daughter and minister of tourism Lindiwe Sisulu at the Albertina Sisulu Centre in Orlando West, Soweto, on Thursday.

Sisulu said she was honoured by Ngwenya’s work and that people of Soweto still had her mother in mind for all she did for the country. 

“This is good because this shows that our own people are creatives and who we can support. In terms of art, you can't get better than South Africans because when we put our minds to it, we are able to be the best despite our history and this artwork is a reflection of that,” said Sisulu. 

The late struggle icon’s centenary was celebrated in 2019. 

She was one of the organisers of the historic anti-pass women’s march in 1956 and was opposed to the inferior Bantu education system. She used her Orlando West home as a classroom for alternative education until the practice was outlawed by the apartheid government.