Taylor preaches patriotism through art

GASEBALWE SERETSE
Correspondent | Thursday November 25, 2010 00:00

Showbiz recently caught up with this young man from Maun and the founder of the youthful organisation, Botswana Youth Self-Reliance (BYSR).

Taylor, who has three brothers and three sisters, says like most of his peers, he used to visit the cattle-posts and other remote areas in the Ngamiland District; so it is not surprising that his first form of art included drawing cattle and wild animals on sand, moulding clay toys, and making wooden sculptures and wire cars.

'I started entering art competitions while doing Standard Four in 1994 and since then, I have been using different media such as crayons, chalk, water-colours, acrylic and oil paints on canvas.  So far, I have done crafts, murals, sculptures, designs and basically most forms of art,' Taylor told Showbiz in an interview.

The artist did his basic education in Maun and since he was academically gifted, in 2001, he won a scholarship to study at the prestigious Maru-A-Pula school in Gaborone where he did Form Four, completing his A-Levels in 2004.

After taking a gap year to work as a temporary teacher in 2006, he enrolled at the University of Cape Town (UTC) to study actuarial science. In 2009, he graduated with Bsc degree.  He is currently working at Deloitte as an actuarial analyst.

Today, the artist believes that art is a powerful instrument that Batswana can use to engender the spirit of patriotism.  He says that his intention is to work with other Batswana to make artifacts that will showcase the beauty of the county, which is why he came up with the concept of the National Painting.

'The National Painting is an example of projects that preach patriotism that is being spearheaded by the BYSR.

In line with the fact that our country has a national anthem, a national flag and coat of arms, we at the BYSR find it pragmatic and appealing to have a national painting. The Botswana National Painting project is simply an initiative in which we propose that a group of Batswana artists should work together to produce a gigantic painting depicting 50 years (1966-2016) of Botswana's history, capturing the most important events and developments and in the process telling the beautiful story of how Botswana has earned her reputation as 'Africa's success story,' he said.

Taylor further said that the painting would be an illustrative record that Batswana of all ages could easily relate to.

He pointed out that Botswana should celebrate its successes with the painting given the fact that at independence in 1966, the country did not have much infrastructure and social services as former president Sir Ketumile Masire would put it, 'At independence, therefore, we had to start everything from scratch.  While other countries inherited a modicum of development and infrastructure and social services, we can categorically say that every facet of development in our country has been planned and produced by ourselves.  We are proud of our modest achievements'.

'These formative years of our nation are years that ought to be remembered and appreciated by younger generations that are yet to come, and we at BYSR feel that an indelible landmark like a painting will suit the purpose well and substantiate our founding father's words, 'a nation without a past is a lost nation,' Taylor said.

He further said that upon completion, the National Painting and its replicas will be numerous and they will come in handy when it comes to assisting Botswana's national efforts in tourism, education and branding the country internationally.

Taylor, as the originator of the National Painting project, has painted a sample painting measuring 8m x 2.1m to give Batswana a feel of what the envisaged painting or paintings will look like.

'The vision is that the final painting to be declared as the official Botswana National Painting will be larger, estimated to be 50m x 5m. It is our aim that the painting will be completed and unveiled by 2016, as a tangible token of our contribution and dedication to our long-term vision,' he said.

He said that the production of the Botswana National Painting is not restricted to artists but other stakeholders, such as historians, politicians, ministers and Dikgosi, should be involved.

According to Taylor, the envisaged National Painting would be a groundbreaking innovation that has not been achieved elsewhere in the world - hence its successful completion will make Batswana its proud pioneers.

'We, as the BYSR, invite all Batswana individuals, companies and organisations to get involved in the attainment of this goal because without substantial support it will not go anywhere,' he said.