Women potters shine at President's Day display

GASEBALWE SERETSE
Staff Writer | Friday June 11, 2010 00:00

 

Arts& Culture learnt that the impressive pottery works mounted at the exhibition belong to two sisters - Mmamontshoyana Ditshekiso and Keseitsheletse Ditshotlo - both from Molepolole.

According to Power Kawina, the curator of Kgosi Sechele I Museum, Ditshekiso and her sister are considered leading potters in the entire Kweneng district. These creative sisters have a contemporary approach to their work, which is most certainly advantageous.

Although few, craftsmen, especially those who work with hides, have done a good job Phuthego Banweng and Keorontshiwa Thantshwane's San hunting sets are particularly brilliant.

Talented Molepolole College of Education (MCE) lecturer, Abednico Sechaba chose to use the theme of culture in the outstanding pieces that he submitted at the competition.

His imposing, My Culture, Endangered Species, which is a mixed media artwork, showcases the San dancing in the dark. Curiously, the painting also features barbed wire. One could interpret the barbed wire to mean that the culture of the San is endangered by a number of factors and not least among them their controversial removal   from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), which some claim has disrupted the San's way of life.

Another culture themed piece by Sechaba is You Reap What You Sow , showcasing men using donkeys for ploughing. This pencil drawing masterpiece is a beauty thus it does not surprise to see that it is one of the works that qualified for the nationals.

In this piece, as the ploughs dig deep into the soil, they unearth a number of traditional kitchen utensils such as water-storage pots and there is also a milk-container hanging up in the tree. A careful study of the picture would reveal a 'note' that reads, 'Beware, Cultural Restoration On'.

The versatile Sechaba also has mounted a sculpture of a man blowing a horn and the piece is aptly called, The Horn Blower, The Original Vuvuzela. Many who are well acquainted with the Setswana culture would understand why the artist calls the horn the 'original Vuvuzela' because in the olden days, horns were used in celebrations.

Mogorosi Modisane's brightly-coloured Music: Subject With No Barriers depicts what appears to be a man playing a musical instrument. As the artist aptly called the piece, music is a universal language. Music: Subject With No Barriers is a brilliant piece.

Tshipi E Ntsho: The Only Alternative To Traffic Congestion showcases a number of cyclists riding the good old bicycle.  Tshipi E Ntsho is the name, which some Batswana use to call the old black-framed bicycle.

This piece should get many asking themselves if the use of bicycles could be used to avoid traffic jams that are commonplace in our cities. Some countries in Asia and Europe encourage the use of bicycles to combat traffic jams and perhaps the artist is trying to relay the same message.

Modisane's last work is an installation that includes a painting How Far or Near Is The Death of the Okavango Delta? This piece is indeed thought provoking as the whole world is becoming concerned about the damage that is happening to the natural environment around us.

Lovers of wooden carvings would love Caiphas Seloko's Crocodile, which is one of the biggest and heaviest pieces at the exhibition. The soldier did a great job although his crocodile looks more like an alligator.

Just how on earth artworks by WD Engineering's Monumental Arts and Sculptures made it to the finals the boggles the mind. Yes, it is true that these people are equipped with just the right materials for making sculptures but they greatly lack talent that should go with them.

The company has submitted a number of artworks for the competition but most of them are dismissal.

Their attempt to make a fibreglass statue of the first President of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama, looks pathetic to say the least.

 For starters, the figure looks nothing like Seretse and it is also not proportional, making it a big joke.

Their interpretation of the Three Dikgosi's visit to England is almost an insult, some would say (and they would not be wrong). The men in that relief are most certainly not the Three Dikgosi and the fact that they are featured wearing bell-bottomed trousers adds salt to injury.  Their Kgalemang Motsetse's puffed face relief is also depressing to say the least.

The company somehow managed to redeem themselves with their Botswana Coat of Arms piece, but even that is not enough. If indeed WD Engineering is made up of a group of engineers they should stick to their day jobs as their works do not strike the right cord and it does not take a professional artist to see that.

Other works to check out at the exhibition include Boyce Mookotsane's wooden traditional chairs. Mookotsane claims to make the works the way his forefathers did, a thing that he seems to be very proud of.

Peter Van Neel's Where Are We Going piece challenges the political climate in the world at the moment.

This artist, who travelled all the way from Mahalapye to exhibit at the museum, says that the events that are currently making headlines in international news are quite alarming.

There is another unlabelled work that interestingly depicts the Bakgatla Kgosikgolo, Kgosi Kgafela II and Lebo Mathosa of the now defunct South African group, Boom Shaka.

This piece seems to be 'talking' about the collision between tradition and modernity. The majestic Kgafela is shown wearing traditional gear while Mathosa is shown wearing a skimpy gear and posing in an erotic posture to the fury of the 'traditionalist' king.

Well-known artist Andrew Matseba also submitted his pencil or possibly charcoal artwork called My Land. 

Although Arts & Culture has always held Matseba in high regard, this particular work failed to impress and perhaps it is because of either the approach, or the technique he applied on this piece that showcases what looks like a group of san woman gazing at something, was wrong.