Somolekae�s art mimic photographic moment

Spira Tlhankane | Friday June 17, 2016 15:01

 

In a village called Molepolole south of Gaborone, a young boy once asked his mother if it was possible to draw a person exactly the way they are. The mother told her son that it was impossible to portray an image the way a photograph does. The young boy swore to this day that he would one day draw a picture perfect image and prove his mother wrong.

Now after many years of developing his technique, 24-year-old, Baboloki Somolekae has unleashed the craftsmanship in his subtly accurate artwork. He is now close to perfection and he has taken realism to the next level. When Arts and Culture stumbled upon his work at Thapong Visual Arts this week, it almost looked like he had carved a photograph on canvas. In an interview, Somolekae said his work is not the work of computer software as one may assume.

“My artwork is handmade with coloured pencils. People often ask whether it is a photograph,” he said.

He said besides proving a childhood point to his mother, his aim is for people to see, understand and relate to his work.

Inspired by a British artist of Nigerian descent called Kelvin Okafor, Somolekae said he wanted a new style of art where he could mimic qualities of a photograph with his bare hands. “I pay much attention to detail and I am a very patient artist.

People often ask me why I take so long to finish my product and I say I want to produce something of pure satisfaction to the viewer, and myself,” he said.  Looking back, Somolokae said he started art at primary school in 2003. He said he was motivated by his teacher to enter an art competition. When he was at Dithejwane Junior Secondary School Somolekae said one of his teachers encouraged him to seek other techniques to spice up his talent.

This was not until he gained his first recognition at Kgari Sechele Senior School where he won an art competition at Molepolole Museum.  Somolekae said he completed his Form Five with an A* in art and was honoured with an award for Best Performer in Art and Design during the 2009 BEC Excellence awards. “This was a great motivation and it shaped the path I later took when I went to University,” he recalled.

Somolokae said he studied industrial design at the University of Botswana and the course developed him further in the field of visual arts. “As an artist industrial design teaches man-made design and it helped me to broaden the aspect of visual arts,” he said.

The 24-year-old artist said he is waiting to graduate this year and he intends to seek an art related job. “My knowledge in industrial design has helped me to look at new ways of improving my craft,” he said.

When quizzed about the subjects of his artwork, Somolekae said he always wants to put across a theme and message in all his artwork pieces. “One of my pictures entitled ‘Pride and culture’ shows elderly people raising Botswana flags. I wanted to show the youth that they can learn a lot from our elders,” he said. He said the dress code in the picture also shows a part of the culture the youth had left behind.

Another of his paintings is called ‘A helping hand’ and it shows old women planting vegetables. The art is a meticulous drawing and the women’s blankets and scarf are painted to every little detail. The visual depiction of unity erupts from the first instance.

The soil particles on the picture show that Somolekae cannot only depict but he can also mimic the form and textures in a photograph. 

Somolekae said his choice of painting would always remain realism because it is his strongest point. “As an artist people will always ask you, can you draw me? People are motivated by that,” he said. He said he wants to portray something as it is. Going forward Somolokae just like many local artists wants to have an art gallery of his own and collaborate with young artists.