Surgery at Maun Art Exhibition

“He who depreciates art loves neither philosophy nor nature. Truly art is a science, the true-born child of nature.” Spoken by Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci over four hundred years ago, this philosophical statement continues to inspire modern artists around the globe.

For a long time I have neglected the visual artist (fine art) in me. I can’t remember the last time I sat down and created a work of fine art. When I was approached to take part in the upcoming fine art exhibition by Maun-based artists, it was a chance for me to awaken the sleeping persona that had been dormant for many years. Of course I’ve been engaged in some form of visual arts (mostly graphics) but fine art is the kind that always pokes at my emotions. Somehow, through my conceptual art, I feel like it is the other voice, alongside poetry, with which I can truly display my thoughts, emotions and general outlook at the world. 

My art has long been divorced from direct/representational kind of art. I hope this is the kind of art form that will tap at the viewer’s curiosity and engage with one’s thoughts. I will be exhibiting a mixed media piece entitled, Surgery. Although media is mixed, surgery is operated on a base of sepia mono-print on fabriano paper. Molten bees-wax is pasted almost haphazardly, yet somewhat controlled, over subtle and fading prints of illegible words. The shape formed by the paste is stitched painfully on the edges in black and white embroidery thread. Crimson acrylic had been squeezed though cracks in the wax, giving an impression of clotted blood. More careless stitches can be seen around the artwork, creating an unpleasant border. The work is framed on a glassless black and gold frame. More about this work, including image, will be posted after the opening on the exhibition on Wednesday 17^th August 1730hrs at the Nhabe Museum, Maun, Botswana.  Refer to the post below for more details on other participating artists.

Showcasing Maun Artist - A Fine Art Exhibition

Among the names that will be taking part is painter Roger Brown, winner of Thapong’s Best Upcoming Artist award 2010. Although he has been living in Botswana for the past 11 years, 25 year old Brown was born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa. He paints mainly in oils on canvas and his subject matter is dominantly wildlife and traditional lifestyle of Botswana.
                Then there is Ompatile Sebuelo. He holds a B-Tech degree in Fine Art, with specialities in ceramic sculpture. He is currently an art teacher at Okavango International School. Sebuleo’s ceramic pots are extraordinarily shaped, with forms that break the typical boundaries of pottery. He is first prize winner of the 2011 Presidential Awards Exhibition.
                Mike Smith was born in England. He has been drawing and painting in Botswana since 1973. He says his paintings are mostly inspired by shapes found in nature. He then further abstracts the forms he finds in plants and animals. Mike Smith has designed stamps for Botswana Post.
                Christiane Stolhofer is a 55 year old sculptor who first came to Africa in 1979 as a nurse. She was then working in Zambia and Zimbabwe. In 1983 she began to sculpt, working full time with stone. During 1987, when travelling through Central and West Africa, Christiane started sculpting wood. That was the beginning of a deeply involved relationship with the African hardwoods. She came to live and work in Maun six years ago. 
                “These heavy old woods are, in their character, messengers of a raw untouched nature that has largely disappeared,” she says of her artworks. Christiane has exhibited widely in Harare, Maputo, Gaborone, Johannesburg, Paris, Munich and New York.
                Thitaku Kushonya hails from the village of Etsha. She is a renowned basket weaver who is international crowned ‘the master weaver’. She has been selling baskets since she was only eight. Her award winning baskets are often based on traditional patterns such as 'tears of the giraffe' and the 'flight of the swallow' while other designs come to her in dreams.
                “When I sleep,” she says, “I dream the patterns, and then I draw them.”
                Another sculptor taking part is 33 year old Elijah Mazhani, belting a Master’s in Fine Art from the University of South Africa. Elijah has participated in national and international exhibitions.
                Kgalemang Moipolai will also participate in the show. He is an inmate at Maun Central Prison. Kgalemang never went to school and his sculptures are moulded from leftovers of cooked mealie-meal mixed with papier-mâché, built on an armature of wire.
                Tobacco farmer to self-taught artist - this is how Ken Oake describes himself. Ken spent nine years in the National Museums of Zimbabwe at Bulawayo as a taxidermist where he worked in the habitat design and construction of the dioramas in the museum. He moved to Maun in 1979 and started Game Studios (Botswana) Pty Ltd as a taxidermy and sculpture studio.
                Francis Murray-Hudson first came to Botswana in 1976. She has exhibited in group shows and annual national exhibitions where she has won awards for both her ceramics and paintings. Her work is in private collections around the world. The Bank of Botswana, the National Museum and Art Gallery and Thapong Trust own pieces of her work.
Other participating artists are Mellany Oake, Sonja Raats, Balisi Tabengwa, Keoagetswe Meralo, Oatumetse Kewagamang, Barapedi Kaumbo, Gurudev Korvi, Mike Diyombo and Kennedy Bakwadi.

 With performances by Poetavango, the exhibition will be opened by Lesiga Segola, principal curator at the National Art Gallery in Gaborone on Wednesday 17^th August at 1730hrs, Nhabe Museum. Sponsors are Okavango Wilderness Safaris, Maun Lodge, Ngamiland Adventure Safaris, Botswana Tourism Organisation, And Beyond, A to Z Hardware Dealer, Riley’s Hotel, Northern Building Supplies, Lepopo Food and Liquor Services, Aquarite (Pty) Ltd, The Office Shop and Elena Dovydenas.