Maifala’s sidestep choice turns into affection
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Sunday October 15, 2023 06:00
Maifala, who hails from Goo-tau village in the Tswapong area, says her first interaction with the world of art was during her junior secondary school days when she opted to do Art as one of her elective subjects.
Although she has yet to venture full-time into art, which she says she plans to do in the near future, she believes that she has fully fallen in love with the paint. “I took Art as an elective during my junior years of schooling. Little did I know it was the beginning of an intimate relationship with paints, and have only started doing it professionally in 2022,” Maifala said in an interview with Arts&Culture.
Maifala, who has a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Studies (specialising in public relations and English) from the University of Botswana (UB), told Arts&Culture that she is currently an intern at the Competition and Consumer Authority but her goal is for her to become a full-time fine artist. “I believe at the moment I am in a period of sowing seeds (sharing my craft),” she added.
Maifala is from a family of three siblings and still lives with her mother and father. She describes herself as a “contemporary expressionist, meaning I paint realistic subjects in a distorted format so that I can be able to apply my emotions into the painting which produces an abstract look”. She stated that most of the time, her artworks discuss the topic of ‘stillness and contentment’, which is mainly inspired by her moments with her family, her time in the garden around plants, animals and God, basically environments that steer up emotions of peace, joy and appreciating what is in front of her.
Furthermore, she explained that plants tend to teach her a lot in terms of growth, that it takes time, that there is a season for everything, a season to sow and a season to harvest and that for every season, one has to be in the moment. Maifala said she is grateful to have chosen art as one of the subjects to study back in school. Among her achievements, she said in 2011 she received the BGCSE Top Achievers Award for Best in Art and Design nationwide while she was schooling at Naledi Senior Secondary School, which she said motivated her to keep pushing in art.
Additionally, she said she is currently in collaboration with a wallpaper company in Singapore called LayerPlay. “We created nine collections of wallpapers catering for anyone who would love to make their houses, restaurants, hotels and lodges filled with nature. I do have a few companies I am currently working with to produce more products inspired by my painting designs, but I believe I will share that when the right time comes,” she said in conclusion.