Ellis Singano, who specialises in batik, said on Monday that the country needs to embrace visual art saying it is a unique discipline that tells stories in a different way.
Singano said this following the launch of his solo exhibition titled ‘Tales of Old Malawi’ at Chambo Market Bookshop and Art Gallery in Lilongwe on Friday.
The exhibition will run until August 3 2024.
“I am happy with the support that I have received so far since the launch on Friday. People turned up in large numbers. This is the support that we need as artists because it motivates us to keep striving for quality and at the same time telling our stories,” he said.
Singano, who has drawn inspiration from Tales of Malawi, a 1974 book compiled and edited by his late father and Professor Adrian Roscoe, exhibited 15 artworks made up of 14 batiks and two acrylic paintings.
“In the past years, it was a challenge for people to buy artworks but now the narrative is different. I saw the love for visual art on Friday through the attendance and also people eager to know the stories behind the artworks and then I managed to sell four batiks on the opening day,” he said.
Singano, who has held a number of exhibitions in the country tackling various issues in order to bring about change, said he is hoping that he will sell all the artworks by the end of the exhibition.
“Some people have actually requested that the book be reproduced because the stories in there are good and original having experienced it through the artworks, and I am looking at working on that,” he said.
He then took time out to challenge fellow visual artists in the country to be creative and shift from “the business as usual visual artworks” to art for change that tackles issues affecting society.
The book, Tales of Old Malawi, is the first one in the all-important Malawian Writers Series and is an attempt to keep alive some of the country’s folktales.
Author and Publisher Muti Michael Phoya from Chambo Market Bookshop and Art Gallery, an initiative of Logos Open Culture, said they curate the best of what Malawi has to offer.
“We are excited to host Ellis. By extension, excited to pay tribute to his father, a very gifted artist and storyteller,” he said.
