A wild intersection
Spira Tlhankane | Friday April 21, 2017 17:27
Like the African fauna at the waterhole, all of the visual artists who participated in this year’s member’ exhibition had to quench their creative thirst by taking part in this exhibition. With painting, sculpture, photography, graphic design and drawing artworks being featured in the gallery hallway, it created a sophisticated competition for the artistic predators.
Speaking of predators, artists who did not put much effort into their work in this year’s exhibition fell prey to the artists whose sole mission was to drink the freshest water at the Thapong Gallery waterhole.
One of the most striking artwork at the gallery is the sculpture of women made from fiberglass. Although it is built more like a small statue, Joseph Piet took every step to mould the fiberglass into a perfect piece of art.
The two sculptures entitled ‘Mosadi wa tlatlana and Mosadi wa nkgwana’ represent African women. It took some fine rendering and it shows that the sculpture category is slowly improving because it suffers less participation in various art competitions and exhibitions.
Behind the two sculptures is another outstanding piece of painting called ‘Phetlho ya teemane’ done by Kenny Ketshotseng. The way he used the deep blue colour creates illusion and captures the eyes of the viewer instantly.
In an attempt to capture the vital aspects of Botswana, Ketshotseng brings in a patriotic atmosphere within the visuals by painting diamonds, nkgwana and leselo.
It was only getting better for just an exhibition but Gosaitse Nthoiwa made what looked like a bas-relief. Bas-relief is a sculpture technique in which figures and other design elements are just barely more prominent than the (overall flat) background.
Nthoiwa carved a white hand from a flat white background and this technique makes it the most unique piece of art in the gallery. The hand seems to be waving and at the same time showing struggle. Although the artwork is built to raise questions in the viewer’s mind, one cannot help but wonder what is happening behind the vicinity of the other side of the white background.
Bas-relief is created either by carving away material or adding material to the top of an otherwise smooth surface. It is not new having been used widely in Italy during the Renaissance and even earlier in other parts of the world.
Painter, Christopher Mokgeledi decided not to go through the same old route as other painters in the gallery but the artworks entitled ‘African woman’ and ‘My dark room does not explode’ through the canvas but seeks a detailed attention from the viewer.
Painting an exactness of a picture will capture admiration from the onlooker but art lovers are slowly growing to like art pieces that demand interpretation. The titles of the artworks also help the viewer to further paint his revelation on the already colourful canvas. Looking at his paintings, Mokgeledi believes in the individual analysis of his work besides the titles being specific.
Ciska Kainatjizuo managed to capture a wider audience through his use of Herero style and culture to create two dolls that represent different generations of the Herero attire. Kainatjizuo took something old and new and use it to create something that represents his knowledge in Herero culture.
Even though a few artworks stands out compared to the others, Thapong Visual Arts Centre was running this exhibition for all its members. The exhibition will return again next year with the participation growing every year.