Ramogotsi carves a life for himself

Today, the sculptor is one of the very few Batswana stone sculptors around. Ramogotsi says that he was never academically gifted and that meeting completely turned his life around.

The 32-year-old stone sculptor, like most artists, says he realized he had a gift to work with his hands at an early age. He, together with his peers, used to go to a dam near Lentsweletau where they would mould clay toys.

However, Ramogotsi, who is the eldest of four siblings, says that he started to formally study art as a subject at Itereleng CJSS and Kwena Seroto CJSS in Molepolole.

'Back then, I mostly did paintings and pencil drawing. I also did a bit of plaster of Paris mouldings,' remembers the sculptor.

Sadly, the sculptor did not pass his Junior Certificate and he was forced to attend Cannon night school, which did not offer his favourite subject. Instead he opted to study Literature in English in its place. When Ramogotsi did not do well at the night school, his parents decided to send him to Foundation Technical College in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, where he did his O'Levels. The school closed down soon after he enrolled and in 1995 he went to Crescent College in Harare. The determined student's thirst for education was disrupted by political unrest in the city.

He fled to an outlying village of Chishawashe where he registered at St. Dominic's as a private student. It was while at Chishawashe that he met a group of Rastas at a commune in Tafara Mabvuku and since then, his life has never been the same.

He joined the group as a part-time student and worked under the mentorship of a Rastaman he only remembers as Godfrey for a few years. According to Ramogotsi, he did not do well at St. Dominic's so he came back to Botswana where he did a number of construction courses with brigades in the country.

It was while doing bricklaying at Tswelelopele Brigade in Ramotswa that he was intrigued by the way the villagers used stones to make wall boundaries. He then collected stones from a nearby hill and made sculptures of President Festus Mogae, Botswana Coat of Arms and the 'State House' inscription.

'I then invited some people from the Office of the President to come and view my work but when they arrived it seemed like they were not impressed,' remembers the artist.
However, all was not lost because later the Private Secretary to the President Nkoloi Nkoloi paid him a visit. Nkoloi was so impressed with the artworks that he bought all the pieces 'for a few thousand Pula'.

'This really motivated me as I had never sold my artworks before,' recalls the artist.

From Tswelelopele Brigade, he went to CITF where he did plastering. After a stint at CITF, he relocated to Otse village where he started a commune mentoring up and coming sculptors.

While there, he managed to make seven sculptures. Out of the seven, he sold three and donated four to the now defunct Dula Sentle.

Currently, the talented sculptor is exhibiting pieces of his works at Tlamelong Rehabilitation Centre in Tlokweng where he is a volunteer. Interestingly most of his pieces bear the coat of arms.

Quizzed about this, the unassuming sculptor explains that he is a proud citizen of the country and that he is also patriotic. Ramogotsi further explains that he admires the Khama dynasty and some of his pieces bear the portraits of Khama III, Sir Seretse Khama and Seretse Khama Ian Khama.

One of the eye-catching pieces at the exhibition is the Human Digestive System. The sculpture, which captures the digestive system, seems to have jumped out of a science textbook.

'It is important that we as people know how our food is digested as this will help us to try to take  good care of our digestive system. Knowing how the digestive system operates also helps one understand that it is important to eat clean food only,' says the sculptor philosophically.

Then there is an exquisite piece called 'Pen Table'. As the name suggests, the little study table also acts as a penholder. The tabletop bears the portraits of his other heroes Nkoloi Nkoloi and President Mogae.

Ramogotsi, who is a believer in democracy and freedom, also expresses his views in the piece 'Justice For All'.

Another interesting piece is 'The Human Heart'. This piece and Human Digestive System will most certainly make both art critics and lovers wonder if the artist's other favourite subject at school was biology. The sculptor's artistic abilities have not escaped the eyes of art-lovers and so far he has appeared in the Botswana Television (Btv) magazine programme, Sedibeng. He has also been featured in the Daily News and Kutlwano magazine.

Commenting on the artist's works, the coordinator of Thapong Reginald Bakwena describes Ramogotsi as a rare gem who only needs to be nurture. Bakwena further says that the sculptor was one of a kind as it is rare to find a stone sculptor in the country.

Appealing to Batswana to support him, the sculptor says that for the arts to survive in Botswana, locals have to show the spirit of patriotism and support good products that come out of the country. He added that his pieces are affordable as he starts negotiating with potential buyers from P 1,000.