Now's your chance to see some of SA's most controversial artworks

Ayanda Mabulu is no stranger to controversy. The self-taught artist from the Eastern Cape has, over the years, been the subject of vitriol, outrage and death threats thanks to his depictions of the ruling elite of South Africa in less than flattering paintings.

These have dealt with Marikana, the Guptas and, most recently, the sodomising of Nelson Mandela's legacy by President Jacob Zuma.

That painting, which shows Zuma with Mandela on his lap, was too much for many viewers when it was leaked online in April.

Now it will hang for the first time as part of a dual show at Kalashnikovv Gallery in Braamfontein in conjunction with work by fellow, though less obvious, provocateur Vusi Beauchamp.

The version that will show at the gallery has the most outrageous part of the painting censored. It's an intervention agreed to by the artist, intended as a commentary on censorship and the threats it poses to the freedom of expression of artists unwilling to pander to the comfort of what they believe is the predominantly white-controlled art scene.

This art community, they feel, is complicit in the toning down of images which the artists believe comment on issues confronting black artists working in South Africa today.

Beauchamp, who was born in Mamelodi and studied at the Tshwane University of Technology and Graphic Design, is, like Mabulu, committed to exposing hypocrisies. Whereas his partner in crime's work is, he says, "much more in your face, it seems like I'm trying to play it safe ... but it's not safe at all".

His work, which has layers of imagery referencing "coon" iconography and plays on protest slogans, has led to accusations that it is racist and insensitive. But these reactions spur his desire to force people to have uncomfortable conversations about artistic representation and the current political situation.

"Artists have been at the forefront of revolutions," he says. ''What's happening with [our] work is that people want to put on blinkers because we're dancing and we're free and we're smiling but the real gut-wrenching shit is what's happening now - assassinations, intimidations. We need conversations to break through the smoke and mirrors that allow people to be comfortable. We're bringing that conversation to the canvas."

Mabulu is not one to mince words: "Art has been f**ked up by big businesses and screwed up by fat bank f**kers who are controlling the art world. People don't seem to notice the spirituality and the prophetic nature of art and its ability to capture the times. Art will play a vital role as a compass when we try to move forward. We'll come back to this time and reflect on what was happening."

Outcry over Mabulu's painting has raised questions about the validity of using rape as a metaphor. Mabulu says: "Rape is not a metaphor. Rape is real. Khwezi was raped."

Both artists say that the sale of their work from this exhibition, titled Freedom of _ _ eech, to collectors is not important.

Mabulu spits: "There might not be rich people [at the opening] but we don't want them. They can stay in Saxonwold with the Guptas. We don't care about these 'soon to die' type of people. They will die with their money. Their souls will rest in hell."

The artists see themselves, as Mabulu puts it, "ploughing with the youth to take things forward. Hopefully these artworks will 'burn' down parliament, Nkandla, and Luthuli House and kill the president and all his cronies."

• 'Freedom of _ _ eech' opens at Kalashnikovv Gallery, 153 Smit Street, Braamfontein, Joburg, on Thursday, October 12, at 6.30pm.

• This article was originally published in The Times.