Malawi’s artworks are good. They are simply good such that they continue to be discussed in Germany following the Myths of Malawi exhibition recently.
In fact the country’s visual artist, Ellis Singano, who was a curator of the project alongside Germany artist Kris Heide will leave to remember this project which started in Malawi before moving on to Germany.
He was part of the exhibition in some places in Germany where many Germans told him outright that the country has talented artists with their own style of paintings.
Singano, who is more into batiks ended up selling one of his paintings at 500 Euros which he said, is the highest in his life since he started his career.
“It was a surprise to me because I have never sold a painting for close to 500 Euros since I started art. But this gave me a picture that as Malawi we look down upon our works and yet our works are of good value for money,” said Singano, whose first artwork was the one which was started by his late father and then he finished it.
Heide said there is more to Malawian artworks and that this is why he made it possible that they have an exhibition in Germany.
“The exhibition was just successful and I am happy we managed to bring Ellis Singano in other places like Berlin. And now after Berlin I will bring it to Hannover the partner town of Blantyre where it will be shown in August,” said Heide.
She said the exhibition in Berlin was a success in that several Malawians living in Germany as well as Malawi’s Ambassador to Germany Michael Kamphambe Nkhoma was present.
She also said the media in Germany covered the exhibitions telling the story of Myths of Malawi.
And to document the works of Malawi and German artists, a catalogue has been produced.
Although most of it is in German, Singano said it was great for Malawian artists to feature in the catalogue which tells their stories as artists but also their work.
In the catalogue Kamphambe Nkhoma described the Myths of Malawi exhibition as unique and diverse and that it met the interests of each and every person.
“Malawi has a rich tradition and culture and some aspects of the exhibition portray the traditional values of the country,” he said.
He applauded the brains behind the organisation of the exhibition saying it was befitting to hold it in Malawi and Germany.
Apart from Singano, who is the curator, there are other artists who participated in the Myths of Malawi and their works are in Germany for exhibition.
George Mkumbula is one of the artists in the catalogue and he says to him “art is the way to share something inside me.”
“You know I have a lot of things of which I cannot communicate with the public through talking or whatsoever. The only way is to paint and express on canvas and other artist avenues,” said Mkumbula.
In the catalogue, Mkumbula displays his The Lucky Stars artwork in which he says some people in Malawi do believe that looking at the twinkling stars in the sky for at least seven days brings luck of some kind.
Myths of Malawi is a project between German and Malawian artists and one of the German artists featuring in the catalogue is Michael Plaetschke, who says art is adventure and doing.
And in his artwork female figure with antelope, Plaetschke said the female figure is holding the antelope from which he heard from Mua Mission.
“The idea is to show a couple, man and woman made of mud, carrying the spirit of light and earth,” he said.
In male figure with spiral, the male figure is carrying the spiral that “I saw as a sun sign at the rock paintings of Dedza.”
“The idea is to show a couple, man and woman made from mud carrying the spirit of light and earth,” he said.
David Mzengo is another Malawian artist featuring in the catalogue and in his words he says “what I bring out through my various and diverse media are just small pieces of the bigger artistic being that is struggling to come out.”
He adds:
“I think the world is not a big enough canvas for me to fully express myself on. So I try to release the inner being through art.”
In one of his works, floodlights/the wrath of Napolo, Mzengo attempts to portray the lack of attachment of myths to “our current affairs.”
He said in 2015 Malawi experienced the worst flooding in years.
“But no reference was made to the mythical Napolo( the flood god) in any media. If Napolo paid us a visit this year (2015) to remind us of his presence and we haven’t acknowledged him….. be very scared of his next visit!!,” said the artist.
Mzengo also has another artwork of Before the Gods, in which the artist portrays the traditional practice of sacrifice offering to mythical gods in times of peril which he says people have abandoned.
Visual Arts Association of Malawi (Vaam) Vice President Gilbert Mpakule is also part of the catalogue.
“Art is writing with colours, pencils, ink etc. You write stories, poems, songs, myths and anything you are able to see, or think about it,” he says.
In one of his pieces he tells the story of Greedy Hyena. This is the story where the hare (clever) cheated the hyena (cowardly) because of food.
Heide, who is the curator, says “art is life –life is perception – perception is thinking and feeling – thinking is social criticism – feeling is just beautiful.”
Telling her story on a Chitenje cloth on Nsanje (Envy), she depicts two Malawian faces confronting each other, don’t have eye contact. They are isolated.
“There is a kind of aggressive feeling transported by the sharp arrows of the Malawian Chitenje pattern, that even go through their faces. The oblong faces seem boneless. Envy eats them up. Many Malawian tales deal with envy and have moral that sharing is the attitude for living together in peace,” she said.
Singano describes art as full of madness which he said becomes normal to the other.
“Art is expressing feelings and emotions,” he said.
One of his artworks is Chinsolo (the head) which he said is about a very beautiful young African lady who married a rejected head, which later turned to a handsome white boy.
Singano also tells the story of Phelezunje in one of his pieces. This is a story of a woman who offered her only boy to the beast to eat after it helped her carrying a pot of water. But the plans to eat the child failed because the insects which were the boy’s friends revealed all the plans to the boy and he escaped death.
Female artist Eva Chikabadwa, whose artworks have been described as controversial also, stars in the catalogue.
To her she says art is a design of an outlook.
Her pieces tell the stories of Kachitsa, Kam’dothi and the killing of M’bona.
The other artists also featuring in the catalogue are Kenneth Namalomba, Theophany Nammelo, Peter Ndyani and Mark Klause.
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