29 May 2016

Regarded as one of the best painters of his time and probably the best to ever come out of Botswana, Wilson Ngoni hosted an art exhibition which is a second for this year titled The Brush That Smoke Paint at Alliance Française and it is set to go on until June 15.

Officially opening the exhibition, coordinator of Thapong Visual Arts Centre, Reginald Bakwena said the exhibition showcases Wilson’s great skill and portrays his use of art medium in the social construction of reality.

“The subject matter which these works are based on defines the issues as pertaining to the society,” he said, adding that they give meaning to the reality of our everyday life, defining ethnicity and identity.

“I must emphasise that Wilson uses this kind of medium, expression and style best suited to communicate his ideas and his subject is enticing to most of the audience,” said Bakwena.

Bakwena further indicated that Wilson has hosted more than 20 exhibitions before and his execution of ideas makes people follow his interpretation and also his art encodes values and ideology.

“His work is informed by social and ideological process,” he said.

He further said Wilson is a well-established painter who is using art as a supporting base for something meaningful to him.

“In the past, Wilson used his creativity to touch people’s hearts and feelings. For example, during his previous exhibition of ‘Dream’, Wilson created a painting titled ‘Screamer’ which provoked and challenged the audience to think of the past. This type of artwork becomes memorial,” said Bakwena.

He indicated that another painting that evoked feelings in people was titled ‘Death of the Trumpet’.

Speaking on his current work, Bakwena said one realises that the artwork is characterised by beauty, spectacular form, status and taste.

“But the purpose which is the subject matter at hand is crucial because it carries the weight of the message,” he indicated.

Bakwena further said being an artist is a true gift or calling from God and it is beautiful feeling with a deep inner drive.

“It is a feeling that enables an artist to be creative, to develop and grow in his/her field. Artists who are looking for motivation, inspiration to push their techniques further could use this exhibition as a source,” he said.

Bakwena encouraged artists that it is important like any other sector to build an audience and network because artists do not only create artworks for themselves but want other people to engage with their work.

“Artists need to engage with their audience and provoke conversation. Let us strive for perfection for art production as we celebrate 50 years of our beloved country,” he concluded.

For his part, Wilson Ngoni said he could not say much, but would rather let his work speak for itself.

I am not a man of many words. I was not blessed with a talent for speaking, but rather I am an artist and the brush is my spoken word,” he said. Ends