Suzy Bell
A young black child strokes the lilac long nails of “Aurora the Raver”, marvelling at the sight of a flamboyant marionette on exhibition. With purple spiral curls, rainbow coloured eyelashes, bellybutton and nose resplendent with shiny silver rings, it’s no wonder Winnie Mandela (marionette) couldn’t quite compete.
In this joint exhibition of KwaZulu-Natal Schools at the Durban Art Gallery (DAG), there’s a high standard of work on display and it’s at last a time when artists of a new generation have found it comfortable to express a cross-cultural creativity. So we have a white pupil who paints in the style of celebrated black artist, Tom Motswai; an Indian artist reflects a fascination for the tribal women of Lesotho while another has produced a silkscreen image of Chris Hani.
In the past it has not been DAG policy to showcase school art, but the gallery is hosting this exhibition aiming at reaching a wider audience — a younger and more vital audience. School pupils from Umhlanga to Umlazi have traipsed through its doors. In just one week over 30 schools with groups of 20 to 100 pupils have viewed the art on display.
An artist who is exhibiting for the first time is Sithembiso Shibe (17), of Umlazi. He says he’s “overwhelmed” with the cultural cross-over. “It means we are getting to know each other. I went to an integrated school and that is reflected in our art. But it’s so good to see it’s happening all over KwaZulu-Natal. Look at that one,” he points toward a painting of a black man in blue overalls with a trolley full of found objects. “Now wouldn’t you think that was painted by a black artist?” No, it’s by Jackie Rapson of Empangeni High School.
Shibe completed his matric in 1996 at Alexandra High in Pietermaritzburg, where he was deputy head boy at the boarding establishment.
Now as a first year architectural studies student at Technikon Natal he says he draws every day. “I thought carefully about job opportunities and it was a practical decision.”
Shibe is also a voluntary worker at the DAG with the Educentre’s outreach programme, where he helps with art workshops for street children.
Shibe himself began drawing at the age of eight, inspired by cartoon images of He-Man and Superman. “There were not many women in the hero comic books so I just did men.”
It was only at school that he began his formal art training. In both his portraits currently on exhibit the focus falls on the eyes — soulful and serious, sad but very telling.
“I always start with the eyes. I spend most of my time on the eyes. When you look at a portrait you look into the eyes first, don’t you?”
The KwaZulu-Natal Schools Art Exhibition is on at the Durban Art Gallery until March 2