By Tom Ketlogetswe, Thapong Visual Arts Center, Botswana
Back in my childhood we used to play a game called ‘statue’. Played as a group, the game coordinator, situated in the middle, will ask us to run or walk. Whenever he/she uttered the word ‘statue’ everyone would freeze their motions immediately. Failure to freeze ones motion would lead to some kind of reprimand.
The Coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly flipped a ‘statue’ switch in our lives. Normal life has been frozen. Thapong Visual Art Centre in Gaborone, Botswana has not been spared the ‘statue’ moment. It has been more than two months since the centre tried to open its doors to art lovers to view a collection of 38 artworks themed around the Coronavirus. The exhibition comprises of paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, ceramics and mixed media.
Majority of the works are a narrative of the pandemic. In majority of the works, the mask has become the symbol of the pandemic. Kedumetse Tshidiso’s painting titled ‘Run’ depicts the Coronavirus as a gigantic bird that unleashes pandemonium on the masses. Thabo Keorapetse’s ‘Waiting on the pandemic’ is a photograph showing dejected woman and child at a bus stop. In Gofaone Thebeetsile’s ‘Tourism’ painting, he paints a bleak future for the industry. Emmanuel Senamolela, a ceramist, uses pottery to represent the ‘feeling’ under the corona virus.
Other artists, such as Wailer Motsumi and Gabriel Puskas, are optimistic in their works. Motsumi’s sculpture titled ‘Education continues after lockdown’ shows a girl in full school gear confidently walking to school. Puskas’s ‘Light in the dark’ painting is one of the few nonrepresentational pieces that suggest that amidst the dark and gloom there is a ray of light. In an effort to outwit the ‘statue’ coordinator, Thapong is working around the clock to showcase the exhibition in social media platforms.
