Desire Marea, a multidisciplinary artist born Buyani Duma, highlights the harmony between his Zulu heritage and queerness. His intention is to liberate the black queer body through his music and paintings. His explicit, brave compositions are eye-opening and help people to break free from taboos and preconceptions.
You are a multidisciplinary artist, but let's start by asking what inspired you to start making paintings in addition to music.
People don't know about me, but fine art was the very first thing I did as a kid. I wanted to be a visual artist when I discovered my father's identity, a renowned artist. The last time I painted was around 2006, when I was about 14 or 15 years old. I realized that I had the technical capabilities, but I didn't have anything to say. So I allowed myself to develop and to explore. I started with acting, then moved on to writing, followed by design, and then music. As I worked in each of these mediums, I developed my voice. When I returned to painting, I knew exactly what I wanted to create.
How does your practices inspire each other?
I believe my work is connected primarily through my themes: love, black queer love, and black existence. There's also a connection between the different art forms because the way I layer a song and how it takes shape is quite similar to how I layer colors in a painting, creating a dense and multi-faced result.
You spent a childhood and adolescence often ostracized, not meeting expectations of masculinity and gender. May I ask you to tell a bit more about it?
I remember feeling ostracized as a child because of my gender expression, and I think it disconnected me from the world and made me focus more on my inner life. This internal focus allowed me to dedicate more time to being an artist, but it also caused trauma because I struggled to navigate the outside world, which was often violent towards me. I internalized a lot of that negativity. Only recently I have been able to truly feel free and claim whatever I want from the world.
Where does home feel like for you?
Home is about embodiment. Home is where I am free, and it is where I am free enough to be everything that I embody.
Your mission is "the liberation of the black queer body".
Through my music, I express myself freely and tell my stories in the hope that it will inspire others to be themselves. The same principle applies to my visual art - I express myself freely, with the intention of encouraging others to feel liberated and free when they see it. I hope that my work has the power to engage people and help them feel liberated.
In your works, you meld Zulu roots and queerness. How do you balance traditional and contemporary language?
I believe that it's important for us as Africans to present ourselves in a way that resonates with modern perspectives. I don't separate modernity from Africanness because it's an integral part of our identity. I express this through my art, portraying historical figures and scenes from pre-colonial times to emphasize that this has always been who we are. Some may see this as a modern approach, but it's actually a timeless expression of our existence as people. I also believe that the human condition has remained constant throughout history, so in that sense, nothing is truly new.
How do you want to depict the Zulu culture and the Zulu people?
The Zulu people have a history of being excellent warriors, having even triumphed over the British. However, what I love most about them is their strong focus on family. Zulu is a great nation that was created by uniting many other great nations. They united because all of them had one thing in common: they wanted to protect the black family unit, which was under attack due to colonialism and other forces. They live in a community, and they are very family-centered. Even though we currently live in very modern structures, culturally, we still hold the family in the highest regard.
In our individualistic era, we are at risk of losing this aspect of ourselves.
I feel that community is extraordinarily important, especially in this individualistic era. Even wellness practitioners emphasize the need to prioritize oneself but often fail to emphasize the importance of community.Fortunately, I am starting to see more people, especially people of color in Europe, understanding this importance due to their circumstances.
Let's talk a little about your figures: we see figures with elaborate bodies, who are full of life, strong, vital men. Why do you depict these bodies like this?
I guess that's almost like the Zulu archetype, as well as those from the Roman Empire or the Greek. I think we have very similar archetypes. It's a subconscious thing, but that's where my thinking is when I consider the men of that time.
How does the ancient Greek and Roman art inspire you? I'm asking because I guess that era was more liberal than ours.
I'm glad you highlighted that correlation, because even in many ancient Greek artifacts, there are depictions that seem surprisingly modern, despite being from ancient times. I find that fascinating because it gives us a gateway to life during those times, but also demonstrates that nothing is truly new. I'm inspired by people who appreciate the human form and the human body and who are dedicated to it. That's what I admire most about ancient Greek and Roman arts – the devotion and love for the human form.
In ancient philosophy, Greek love was a term originally used to describe the primarily homoerotic customs, practices, and attitudes.
I've experienced love as a gay man, and I'm not sure how different it is for people of other identities. I believe that love transcends rigid categories and societal norms, and I find this fluidity to be incredibly captivating and beautiful.
In your paintings, we often see male couples engaging in sexual or erotic activities. What is your intention behind this explicit depiction?
My aim is to help people, especially Zulu individuals, embrace their cultural identity and their queerness. I want to challenge the taboo around being a queer person within Zulu culture. It's important to me because, for a long time, there has been a misconception that being queer is not African, and there are very few examples of traditional or ancient depictions of intimacy or queerness among men. My goal is to create a visual reference that allows people, especially black Africans, to see themselves reflected in a natural, beautiful, and authentic way.
How do you think about eroticism?
Erotic energy is the desire to create something. It's the energy of God. God is a neurotic being. I believe it's an intense experience to express so much of yourself, to create such diversity, and to have so many possibilities. Even if you are not making love in an erotic way, you could be making a future. You could be making something that can bring ease to other people, that inspires people, that informs. It's the energy of wanting to experience life through another person. I have deep respect for the energy of being dramatic and how it extends beyond the sexual aspect.
How do you find your compositions?
It always starts in my head, considering the positioning of the bodies in relation to each other, their placement, and what the overall piece might convey. And when I compose, I look for the poetry in the environment and what their bodies are saying and what the two are saying together to form this image.
How do you think of the narrative in the painting?
The narrative is crucial, as my goal is to capture movement, even in stillness. I aim to capture the essence of movement, even when a person's expression transcends the two-dimensional space and draws you in. Perhaps that in itself is a form of movement. Therefore, narrative is something I strive very hard to convey.
How do you find the poses that you want to depict?
I use various references. Sometimes I pose using my body, but I also use images from the internet. For the graphics, I need images, such as vintage nude photography, especially from the seventies, and sometimes pornography. With platforms like Onlyfans, people now create their own content, essentially giving us a new visual language with a lot of freedom. I combine all these references and pick elements from them to put everything together.
I find inspiration in many modern-day poses and also in religious poses depicted in paintings with strong religious themes. Sometimes I feel inspired by fitting into certain norms, such as heteronormative body language, but I strive to make my poses as natural as possible, reflecting what I envision in my mind and finding ways to bring those visions to life without overthinking it.
Looking at these poses, I am reminded that sexuality is somehow ever-changing, but it is really the same.
The nuances definitely change because I think even the way we perceive our bodies changes over time. It is influenced by popular culture, socioeconomic and political factors, all of which influence how we interact with our bodies and with others physically.
If we look at your pictures in a painterly way, it is noticeable that you use very thin layers.
My intention to express my feelings, I respect the foam but I always want to try to capture emotions. And yes, a lot of layers are thin, but there are a lot of built layers. And also I use thin layers with heavy impasto at times to create certain textures in my paintings. I start with a layer of acrylic, then I paint over it with oil so I can make different factures and feelings. Oil is more lush, it has depth and richness.
Your figures are organically linked to their environment. How do you think of the connection between the bodies and their surroundings?
It takes us back to that time when men's relationships to nature was more authentic or evident. Now, one might think that the home is the place where you have your privacy and your intimacy. However, both in the past and present, being out in nature provides a sense of privacy and freedom for a lot of men who sometimes can't pursue this love and intimacy within the built environment, which often revolves around a traditional family structure. I didn't feel right placing my figures within that environment. There's a poetic aspect to portraying this in natural surroundings. It reflects nature's beauty and naturalness.
What does beauty mean to you?
I'm not entirely sure what beauty means, but I do know what it feels like. It seems to come with surrender. I think you need to be in a certain state to perceive beauty in things. You have to start by recognizing the beauty in your own life, noticing how the universe and your ancestors influence you, and seeing how all the coincidences or events in your life are connected. Even when you experience setbacks or sorrow, it's important to see how you overcome certain things and what they teach you. I believe that you have to live with a certain level of vulnerability in order to see the beauty in the world. Beauty is vulnerability.
The title of your first solo show was "The Baddies of Isandlwana". What does it mean?
It was inspired by the Battle of the Isandlwana, which was a major historic Anglo-Zulu battle in 1879. In the history of the Zulu, the term "baddies" was often used to describe their enemies, referencing their determination and bravery. This term became defining of the Zulu people, emphasizing their strength and loyalty. Despite attempts to erase or suppress our history, we have always been present. Inspired by this history, my first solo show, which ran until the end of August, reflects the classical and contemporary aspects of this culture. It has truly been a life-changing experience for me.
How come?
I just realized that all i have to do is doing. And this has nothing to do with how it has been received or anything that has come from it. It's just the mere fact that at the start of this year, I picked up a paintbrush for the very first time. And six months in, I have the opportunity to do my first solo show. I wasn't expecting it, but it's reminding me how important it is to be courageous and how important it is to start.
What is the difference between releasing and album and making an exhibition?
When making an album, many people are involved in creating the end product. While my name is on the music, many other people contributed to it. On the other hand, when I painted, it was just me and my thoughts. I spent much more time alone, I value the silence and the introspective process. I also enjoy the process of making music and being with other people in my community. But at the time, I really appreciated the solitude of just sitting and listening to the city, and not just listening to music but also to visions.
What does black joy mean to you?
Black joy means freedom. Freedom to be. Freedom to love and freedom to grow. It's difficult in this world to have full freedom, but you try to claim it. So I will say that I am constantly trying to take my freedom in ways that are meaningful and in a way that are possible for a black person.
Is it possible to find harmony in this cruel world?
There are structural changes that would make it much easier for people to find what they're looking for. But I think it's something that you just need to embody. It's something you need to embrace. It's a matter of resilience, a resilient force fueled by love and the freedom of our bodies. I believe it involves always investing in yourself, in your state of being, and in connecting with your true consciousness.
Somehow I fear that we lost the connection to the nature.
I think we didn't definitely lose that connection to nature. And I think more so in South Africa and more so for black people. We are very alienated from our natural world largely. I mean, there are many people, especially healers, who still have that connection. Culturally, the way we do things, it's very sustainable. We are not people who exploit.
But now, with colonialism, we don't have rivers anymore. The white people took our land. And now we live in townships with very tiny yards. And I think that effect is something that perhaps isn't spoken about a lot, but colonialism really does affect the way that we engage with our natural environments, because our natural environment is an extension of us. This is where our ancestors were buried. This is where medicine comes from. This is where our portals are. This is the land that feeds us. And that's the very same land that became the way we were enslaved and the way we were segregated. So, I think the relationship definitely comes from there.
What are you working on right now?
I'm about to start writing new music.
How do you compose music?
I think I just listen to whatever I've had in life. First I listen and process all that I've been through and all that I am in and then I see what comes from that. But I'm always in a different season. Sometimes I'm a painter. Sometimes I'm a musician. Sometimes I'm a writer. And when I'm a musician, I'm a musician for a while. Even if I'm multidisciplinary, but I can't do all of them at once.
What is your strongest power as an artist?
My ability to transform and my ability to manifest. Those are my exclusive powers.
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