WSU fine art students showcase talent in Makhanda
Walter Sisulu University (WSU) students were among the fine art students who showcased their talent at the National Arts Festival this week.
Fine art lecturer Litha Ncokazi said WSU’S exhibition had explored what the department had been up to over the past two years, including during the Covid-19 hard lockdown.
“There is a bit of what we were able to achieve when it came to the resilience on the part on our students, as the effect has been quite severe at an emotional [and] psychological level.”
Ncokazi said despite the challenges, the students had managed to remain focused.
“As the fine art department within the WSU we tried to stay [true to] our vision in terms of producing a calibre of visual students who are on par with the rest of their counterparts in the sector.”
“Every single exhibit that is here in Makhanda is an outcome of interaction between lecturers and students in class being guided in the academic programme.
“It accounts for the research work that has informed the creative accomplishment.”
He said he wanted the artworks to speak for themselves, and not necessarily be encased within specific themes.
Third-year fine arts student Mandilive Gosani shared the inspiration behind some of the sculptures.
One striking, almost life-size sculpture depicts people waiting to be attended to by health workers.
“It depicts the poor service we get from our public health facilities. Every mid-income person has experienced the treatment at a public hospital,” Gosani said.
Ncokazi said the students whose works were on display had been selected according to their proficiency in media such as woodcutting, painting, sculpture and multimedia.
“The work had to be exhibition-ready and [of a suitable] standard and quality [as adjudged] by staff. It had to have inspirational research [behind] it.”
Many of the artworks displayed showcased the significance of the isixhosa culture and customs, with one titled Ubuhle bendoda ziinkomo zayo” (loosely translated as the wealth of a Xhosa man) depicting a man with a herd of cattle.
Ncokazi said the festival had provided a platform to showcase the artworks of the university’s senior students, “most of whom are practising as professional artists”.