Ngoni creations

piece with his audience, which is something that makes him the artist that he is today. The catalogue, he explains, is unusual in many ways. It was not planned as a formal compilation. It is not a social venture but a private one, motivated by profound reflections on the little life he has lived as a painter: the moments he has experienced and his curiosity.

Sharing the journey to finally finishing the book, he explains that he started in 2017. And that back then, he didn’t have a clear direction. Initially, he wanted to have 500 paintings in the book, but soon realized that this was not realistic as he is footing the bill to the book from his own pocket. This would also make the book lose the flavour and the taste that he wanted to give his audience. It was then that he decided on this new path. This is one of the ways that he is professionalising his artistic craft after years of learning and polishing his skills and talent. The dream of compiling and releasing his works in the form of a book, he says, is long overdue. It is something that he has always wanted to do.

“Over the years, I have been writing and painting. As I say in the book, my writing and my painting have been insightful to me,” he explains.

He notes that he paints to find direction, and clarity in life. He also highlights that when he started painting three decades ago, it was a way to put food on the table, and that back then he was only doing it as he was hungry. Unbeknown to him, there was a bigger force that held the key to the artist that he is today. “Today, my work is known all over. Children are taught about me at school. And it has grown into something bigger than what I had anticipated,” he tells this publication. He further says that through his remarkable foundation, many are benefitting. Take for example, his exhibition at say Thapong Visual Arts Centre. The gallery gets a commission which can pay bills, or pay someone’s salary, and the value chain goes on and on. His work, not only benefits artists in the Kopong proximity but other artists as well. Always ready to share his skills, he shares what he knows with his fellow artists as well as students, giving them lifelong lessons about the craft of painting. “It is always a beautiful thing to see artists you have mentored, develop and grow their talents,” he explains. He says that after years of doing this, he came to a point where he had to expand and grow his professional career through this masterpiece of a book. He has had to do a bit of self- censorship in the book, as he is aware about the different audience who will see the book. “I didn’t want to put anything provocative in the book,” says Ngoni. For those who will own the book, he wants them to cherish each and every page in the book. “This coffee table book is really cool,” he says adding that it also serves as his business card, and that it will carry his name wherever it goes. He further says that through his works and writing, he seeks to contribute to the general happiness of humanity. “I hope that it will show my love for happiness and the love I have for life,” he notes, adding that when he reflects at his life, he loves the glory that surrounds him.

For this year, he was slated to exhibit in Germany. And would have exhibited for a month at one of the top galleries there who are keen to have an artist of his calibre. But that plan had to take a backseat as Covid- 19 happened. He has also had to shelf the plan of teaching children as his home is not big enough to accommodate and observe all the Covid- 19 protocols. Something else that he has learnt during this time is the fact that he is in desperate need of a bigger space that can accommodate everyone who are keen to learn from him.

While Covid- 19 has affected him and other artists, it has also been a blessing in disguise as it has afforded him with the time to work and finish the book.