Clifford M'pai, born in 1937, is a largely self-taught artist, who has spent most of his life working as a servant. He practiced drawing in his free time and was encouraged to attend evening classes by his employer. Although he has now gained a considerable reputation as an artist both in South Africa and abroad he kept this part of his life secret from his own family who still live in one of the villages in the Northern Transvaal, away from the city.

This drawing shows a typical village dwelling, with scrupulously clean yard, very different from the garbage strewn townships on city margins. One of M'pai's concerns is to record traditional buildings which are fast disappearing under an influx of concrete and corrugated iron but another significant feature of his landscapes is the absence of human figures. A figure would have to be depicted as black or white, thus immediately impying some comment on ownership or appropriation.

Alan Crump, Professor of Fine Art at Witwatersrand University, has described M'pai's work as 'a world of structured fantasy' but one which reflects the 'shifting social conditions and the insecurities which surround his own condition'. These modest dwellings seem timeless, but M'pai seems aware that the life of villages like this may be threatened by 'a fearsome and alienating existence beyond [their] borders'. [See also E. 856-1997]