By Andrew Mulenga
For a couple of weeks now, five Livingstone
based artists have literally taken over the Zebra Crossing Café at Ababa House
in Lusaka in an exhibition “Cho! Chise”,
the Bemba words that are used to call for the listeners’ attention, before
telling a story.
Golden Valey of Jewellery, (acrylic on canvas) by Vincent Maonde |
Although his paintings do not seem to shift
from his idyllic rural narrative, which often depict women drawing water,
cooking or doing other chores in scerene village backdrops, they still are
quite refreshing depending on how they are read by the viewer because they are
in any case timeless and can be placed in any period that extends from mythical
times to post-colonial. But what is most enjoyable about Maonde is his
matchless ability to use a colour range of fluffy pastel-softness even when he
is working in oils. Since the 1970s, the Evelyn Hone College and Rage Gate
School of Art & Design (London) trained artist has exhibited in Sweden,
Canada, the UK and USA.
Camouflaged Identity, (oil on canvas) by Alumedi Maonde |
Speaking of chameleons, Alumedi’s is not the only one in the exhibition. The other comes in form of the multi-disciplinary, up-coming artist Suse Kasokote whose style is coming quite tricky to follow. It changes the way a chameleon changes its colours. If you were able to catch up with his first solo exhibition that was held at Alliance Francaise in Lusaka last August and expect to find the same style exhibited there, you have another thing coming.
In his uncanny submission of work Kasokota uses
sand or soil as a medium, much like you would expect from a further up the
ladder fellow Livingstone artist Chansa Chishimba, who surprisingly with Firoz
Patel, Sylvia Mwando and James Zimba are not in the show. Anyhow, Kasakota is
ever the entertainer; there is no telling what next is up his sleeve. The
artist who literally promised us that the sacred Nyaminyami (water spirit of the mighty Zambezi River) will help us
co-host a successful UNWTO general assembly, always manages to border on the shadowy,
which can be quite an exciting element in an artist; and his work Royal Fwifwi, the abstract image of an
owl, a bird held in very high esteem in local mystical circles, is a typical
example.
Grey Lourie, (acrylic on board), by Clare Mateke |
Last but not least in line is Thomas Kaoma
who has a variety of abstract doodles as well as some realistic scenes on show.
Interestingly, Kaoma is quite generous in the use of acrylic and uses it in
very thick daubs which leave the water-based paint with a very strong oil-like
gleam. He applies this technique to both his abstract and realistic work which
almost immediately gives him an identity.
Royal Fwifwi, (mixed media) by Suse Kasokota |
Livingstone, nonetheless, has always had a vibrant contemporary art scene and artists have enjoyed a considerable amount of corporate support from the hospitality industry. One good example is the Zambezi Sun who during the period that art lover and former marketing and public relations manager Elizabeth Mwanza (one time Miss Zambia) launched Art In The Sun in 2008 a partnership that allowed different themes and artists to display and rotate work in the hotel’s lobby on a monthly basis. This partnership has obviously fallen off by now but it would be nice if both parties could consider reviving it.
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