By: Thoboloko Ntšonyane
MASERU – The Weaving Club at Morija Arts Centre textile and weaving exhibition has showcased the emerging talent of the artists and weavers.
The art lovers were mesmerized by the talent of budding creatives. The quartet is ‘Maneo Seisa, Motšelisi Mohapeloa, Lebo Mohololi, and Nathan Makhalanyane.
These developments unfolded on Sunday this week at Morija.
The event organizer, weaver and textile artist Teyana Neufeld said the exhibition is “very dear and close to my heart”.
Also the weaving instructor Neufeld said it marked the culmination of her six years spend in Morija and Lesotho.
“Today I really want to celebrate the weavers who have been spending their dedicated time with me throughout the several months. It has been such an honour for me to watch this four people grow, gain experience, gain confidence with their skills, get faster…” said Neufeld.
She remarked that weaving has been very deep in Basotho culture saying they are known for using grass to weave their different creations.
She highlighted that one of the things they are trying to initiate is floral weaving, saying they want to weave “so much more”.
The visitors immersed themselves` to an array of art works made of cloths, cotton and plastics.
One of the weavers, Makhalanyane whose main specialties include sustainable fashion, specializing on up-cycling clothing and clothing repair, said art is influenced by everyday life.
As artists, he said they draw inspiration from everyday life.
Asked to react on the state of the art in the country he said “I don’t think it’s a huge industry. I think it needs people who understand their work to communicate effectively to the consumers and to the people just about relatable work”.
Having studied Fashion Design, Makhalanyane said the light bulb moment was when he attended the weaving training last year and from then, he has never looked back.
He said he has not sold his work yet, but he is currently paying premium on redefining his imaginative hands. His dream he said is to venture into textile designing to produce clothing.
Makhalanyane said he is planning to sell his creations this summer urging the people to be on the lookout.
Art-lover, collector and fashion designer Katiso Joachim Tsoho said he has “learned so much and drew lot of inspiration” from the exhibition.
Also the founder of Joachim Garments, Tsoho said his journey into art involves learning every day.
“Inspiration can come anywhere,” he said when asked what process comes into play before producing the artistic piece of work.
He said Basotho are “still behind” in terms of collecting and appreciating art attributing this to “lack of understanding”.
“It’s only a certain population of Basotho who understands art,” he said adding that as artists they have so much inspiration and reference but the consumers still lag behind in terms of appreciating art.
The week long exhibition ended on Sunday this week.