He does not even have the energy to stifle a yawn, but enough energy to wage war against his eyelids that grow heavier by the minute. This exhibition is his coming out as an artist into the world and clearly it is worth any sacrifice.
“I am not tired,” he denies with a chuckle at the corner of his mouth.
He invites Arts and Culture into his meagrely furnished single room house. Paintings are strewn in every corner of the room waiting to be put up for tonight’s exhibition. It is immaculately well kempt.
He positions himself on his bed; it is the only sitting prop in this little room apart from the single chair already occupied by his paintings.
Above his right shoulder Warona Setshwaelo, former Big Brother Africa housemate, is looking right back at the new visitors. Her face is radiant and smiling. She possesses a lot of warmth.
Adjacent to him, the school bell has rung as children rush out of their classrooms. Directly in front of him, two boys are squatting on the dusty streets playing a friendly game of Mmele. Just behind the boys, the girls are engaged in a traditional dance welcoming the break of morning (dawn).
Against a wooden shelf leans the hungry boy with his arms on his head in despair. These are the faces and voices Motoloki unleashes tonight after he kept them locked up in his house for some time.
Born and raised in the Tswapong village of Goo-Tau, Motoloki tells Arts and Culture that he never actually thought he would become an artist. He always thought that after he finished school, as a student of arts and craft, he would be employed somewhere.
“I never entertained the thought of continuing with the brush. It was just a subject I did at school, but once I stepped into the real world I never realised just how much I would need it,” he says.
He is no man’s Motoloki, but his own. His job at Plascon, tinting litres of paint, would not be enough to put bread on the table. This he would learn eventually. He came to Gaborone in 2000 looking for employment, but it was not as easy as he thought it would be. Life in his Goo-Tau is different from that of the city. The simplicity of life and the aura of peace are forgotten virtues.
“Bad things happen in the city,” he says. He holds the painting he calls “Alone” up and looks at it.
It is an orphaned boy, dirty, hungry with no place to go.
“Children are the ones that inspire me most. They are so young yet faced with such travesties. But what intrigues me is how oblivious of trouble they are in their innocence or the threat of violence from the rest of society no matter how ignored or abused they are,” he says.
There are still those days that street kids can sit and play games to keep themselves entertained.
“Poverty is their life. It may be all they know,” he says.
It was only in 2001 when he learnt of Thapong Visual Arts Centre, where the exhibition is to be held. Since he became a member there, he has been participating in in-group shows for the last two years under the guidance of the more experienced artists.
“Over the year I started compiling paintings for my first exhibition. Things that we see in every day life and an introductory level of young children inspired all of that work,” he said. His profile reads more like a résumé if there is any such a thing for an artist. However, he does not sound boastful of the things that he has achieved so far. He knows it is just the beginning for him.
He has a portrait of Tshekedi Khama hanging amongst the possessions of Sediegeng Kgamane as a gift during the 50th anniversary of Moeding College in 1998. A model he designed was also handed to President Festus Mogae during the ceremony. Another piece of his was given to Mogae in 2002 as a gift from Barlow World. They had purchased the painting of the “Three Presidents” as a gift for the President during the Botswana National Sports Council Annual Awards of 2002 in Phakalane.
“That was the time I got to shake hands with the President of this country,” he recalls.
Amongst the 20 pieces to be exhibited are clever portraits in ink and jik. He cleverly burnt the ink with the bleach liquid to give it a shade of brown. Most of his works are done economically.
“I do not buy from art shops little paint packs. Those are too expensive. Instead I buy the Plascon paint at a cheaper price as it is more quantity,” he says.
Not only are his paintings visually communicative, but they also invite the sense of touch. Onto the canvas, he mounts smaller pieces of more canvas to give his characters definition. For instance the portraits title “Alone”, “Hungry” and “Mmele” are given more stage and scenery due to the props that he has put on canvas. “At the Rank” is a typical day at the station of shovelled movements. Idle people, along with those that seem to pursue some goal are captured here as passers-by. Added to that is an image of a woman huddled in her little makeshift market post. Motoloki uses more of the station life in his “At the Station” piece. The energy, hustle and bustle and smells seem to inspire him.
Acrylic on canvas is his favourite form of communication, but there are a few pieces painted with watercolours, ink and jik. The exhibition runs October 15 to October 22.
