21 Feb 2017

Regarded as one of the best painters of his time and probably the best to ever come out of Botswana, Wilson Ngoni, along with other artists hosted an exhibition titled Backstory.

The group consists of Sedireng Mothibatsela, Veryan Edwards, Shepard Ndzudzo, Ditshupo Mogapi, Ngozi Chukura, Neo Matome, Moratiwa Molema, Modirwa Kekwaletswe, Uhuru Kgope, Harun Harun and Steve Jobson.

Officially opening the exhibition, coordinator of Thapong Visual Arts Centre, Reginald Bakwena said the exhibition would be showcasing a work in progress - showing the working method.

“This is a display of the artists through their work, what drives them and how ideas evolve through the process of making. It is also a snapshot of a variety of people from varied circumstances living in the same country and what their individual responses have been through a similar period of time,” he said.

He indicated that each artist would display two or three pieces of work.

“Alongside each piece, sketches and thoughts of the artist over the period of making the piece will be shown,” said Bakwena, adding that photographs and physical evidence of how the piece came about would also be available.

Bakwena said it is important that the audience is able to talk to artists about their work on the opening night; hence he encourages people to attend.

He noted that seeing how an artist conceptualised and brought their work to life enlighten art consumers more to the individual, something that a finished artefact sometimes masks out.

“I have invited a number of schools, colleges and universities to attend the opening so that students who are doing courses that require interaction with a living, working artist can use this occasion to interview and create contacts with them for future research,” he said.
About Wilson Ngoni, Bakwena said he is a beam of hope and inspiration to many artists.
 Bakwena further indicated that Wilson has hosted more than 20 exhibitions before and his execution of ideas makes people follow his interpretation and his art encodes values and ideology.

He went on to say that Wilson is a well-established painter who is using art as a supporting base for something meaningful to him.

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

“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.

Speaking on his current work, Bakwena said othe 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 said.

Bakwena further said being an artist is a true calling from God, adding that 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 their field.

Artists who are looking for motivation, inspiration to push their techniques further could use this exhibition as a source,” he said.

Bakwena told artists that it is important 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 move forward having celebrated 50 years of Independence,” he said. BOPA