Ntshingane ignites her creativity with waste

Spira Tlhankane | Friday November 11, 2016 15:40

 

She braids, perforates and sews material into unconventional, unique and futuristic form. All of Ntshingane’s materials are hundred percent handmade. She has worked across a variety of platforms that include installations, weaving and sculpture.

Arts & Culture caught up with the multifaceted artist at her Thapong Visual Arts studio this week. The most epic piece in her studio is a compass like wall hanging made from sack and white threads. She creatively found a way of putting them together to constitute a unique décor with the structure of the art piece made from sticks. Most of the collage in her studio forms sensational recycled art.

Ntshingane was quick to mention that her material is all over. “I use bottles, tins, stones, leaves, paper and everything I can get my hands on,” she said. She said she uses everything that seems interesting at the time.  “These recycled materials gives me an opportunity to create something that has never been produced,” she highlighted.

Ntshingane said she could work with cardboard, leather, and sack. She admitted that sack is her favourite because most of her works has benefited from the material. “I love the texture of a sack and I can do anything with it,” she said.

Ntshingane said no job is small to her and she uses sack to make artworks from the smallest to the biggest. “I learnt to develop small pieces using materials from ropes. I also paint ostrich egg shells to make vases,” she said. Looking back, she said she used to use canvas and paint but along the way she got bored of doing the same thing. She started in 2008 working with paper art.

“I used colourful papers to make various images,” she said. She said she learnt to paint on canvas when she joined Thapong. “I benefited from the workshops and now I know how to stretch canvas,” she highlighted.

She has designed a woven ceiling using sack at the University of Botswana (UB) Hotel and Conference Centre’s Sefalana Centre. She has participated in the Women’s Expo and President’s competition. Being a self-taught artist, she said she does not mind teaching her skills to other interested people. Going forward, Ntshingane said she wants to own a studio and gallery. Ntshingane’s artwork is a clear indication that even discarded pieces can become a valuable art when one thinks outside the box.