VIRTUAL ARTIST HOSTS A SUCCESSFUL SOLO EXHIBITION
PRINCE Tom, one of Botswana’s most accomplished and wellknown virtual artists, held his first-ever solo art exhibition over the weekend at The Grand Palm Hotel Casino Convention Resort marquee in Gaborone.
Tom is a full-time professional artist who specialises in body art, pencil and charcoal drawings, murals, and customised clothing, but the focus of the weekend exhibition was on canvas paintings and body art. The artist had 25 large canvas paintings and nine body art models on display to capture the eyes of over 80 revellers who graced the event.
In an interview, Tom revealed to this publication that the launch of his artwork, titled ‘The Ballad of a Butterfly’ was held as part of a tribute to his late mother, Khumo Tom, who first exposed him to art at a tender age.
“This exhibition is an ode to my late mother, who passed on back in 2011 after introducing me to art at the age six and also helping me win my first-ever art accolades back in 2010,” said Tom.
MOTHER
He noted that on close attention to his art-work, one would realise that there was at least one butterfly in every painting, which was his way of communicating with her mother, spiritually, and appreciating her.
“I decided to dedicate her the butterfly because she loved gardening and we used to garden together. She would always give me the responsibility of watering the garden and planting new flowers, so spending so much time in the garden with flowers meant that I often saw butterflies, which were beautiful and mysterious, as was my late mother,” he said.
Tom further revealed that the event was a success, as he did not expect to see such a turn-up.
“My first solo exhibition was a success; one would say a revolution of art in our times. The feedback from the attendees was out of this world as some of the people couldn’t stop talking about the exhibition night,” said Tom.
The 25-year-old is also an internationally recognised artist who has sold his current most expensive painting in the United Kingdom. Some of his artworks have also been featured on one of America’s biggest talk shows, The Wendy Williams Show.