Artistic Mogapi soldiers on depsite COVID huddles

Spira Tlhankane | Friday November 27, 2020 15:34

With his inspirations ranging from mythology to his surroundings as well as current societal issues, Mogapi has more to explore this year with various themes around the pandemic

In order to make up for the delay, Mogapi will host his exhibition called The Local Palette at Cotton Cloud Store from December 4 to 8, 2020.

The exhibition curated by Carpe Diem EXP will launch Mogapi’s 2020 collection. Mogapi has been pursuing his love for fine arts since 2004 when he was formally introduced to it during his junior school days.

Now a member of Thapong Visual Arts, he has explored other paths such as editorial illustration, painting, portraiture, figure drawing, graphic design, photography and sculpture.

Mogapi who grew up in the village of Matlhakola in Tswapong has paintings in galleries and participated in exhibitions around Botswana. The man from Ramotswa has previously won the coveted Thapong Artist of the Year award (TAYA) and he has never looked back since.

Other projects he has engaged in include art murals endorsed by the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development. According to his brand manager and exhibition curator, Rebaone Malefho, Mogapi has also undertaken successful art projects with various ministries. “Mogapi received worldwide acclaim and exposure when he won the Diamond Trading Company jewellery design competition. His winning piece was sponsored by Shrenaji Botswana in exhibitions worldwide,” he noted. Malefho added that the local Palette exhibition is more like combining the three exhibitions which Mogapi was supposed to host this year.

“He hosts exhibitions quarterly but because of the COVID-19 pandemic he could not do so this time around. But during this time he didn’t stop but rather he was working on his new 2020 artworks,” Malefho further told Arts & Culture.

Mogapi likes to use vivid images with a blast of colour in his paintings. With his inspirations ranging from mythology to his surroundings as well as current societal issues, Mogapi has more to explore this year with various themes around the pandemic.

He likes to challenge art lovers with his striking artworks and it remains to be seen what he has in store for the Local Palette exhibition.