Lesejane finally mounts solo photo exhibition

Spira Tlhankane | Friday June 22, 2018 12:29

 

A traveller and an adventure lover Lesejane told Arts & Culture that the exhibition which will last for two weeks showcases different techniques of photography in an artistic form comprising of Landscape photographs as well as photographs with different techniques such as pinhole photography, emulsion lift and transfer, hand-painting and 3D hand photo montage.

“The exhibition features some works that are new and some that have been in my archives for over 10 years. I have developed the older photographs through other techniques such as glass overlay and hand painting. Some of the techniques were practised many years ago while some are to give the feel of ancient photography days such as the glass overlay and wet plate collodion,” he highlighted.

He said he personally photographed them and has had a chance to share some of them with his mentor, Martin Osner in Cape Town for opinion on the works. “I am basically putting the exhibition together on my own so I have not gotten any helping hand. A tiring process, if you ask me” he specified.

Lesejane who declared his distinctive love for wildlife nature and landscapes said his addiction to travel has influenced many people to travel, earning himself the name ‘Journey Man’. If he is not taking pictures somewhere in the wild, he is probably cooking up a storm or fiddling with his gadgets. Lesejane loves the road and seeing the world. He participated in a one of kind local expedition themed ‘Cross Okavango Delta Expedition’ using a mokoro. He also completed a self- drive safari though Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve, Chobe National Park, Nxai Pan and Moremi. Lesejane has travelled extensively where he followed the Livingstone trail from Kolobeng in Botswana to Zanzibar in Tanzania.

He was later sponsored by Namibia Tourism to explore Namibia and photograph landscapes over 15 days. He has climbed Kilimanjaro to Uhuru 5895m Peak. More of his missions include hiking at the Drakensburg and Maluti mountains in South Africa and Lesotho, traversing the Kgalagadi Desert and Makgadikgadi Pans by foot for charity. Lesejane has always had a special place in his heart for nature, wildlife and considers himself a conservationist because he takes time to study animal behaviour.

With his upcoming exhibition he said he hopes to inspire Batswana and show them the most artistic part of photography as never seen before in Botswana. “With skills to be shown at the exhibition, there are many ways to get the artistic feeling of photography than just documenting subjects as they appear. I hope many people will go on to experiment with different mediums and not only a camera like I have done. We have seen too many ordinary photographs so it is time to redefine the craft,” he said.