Visual artist dedicates painting to women
Visual artist Ronald Banda, who is displaying his works alongside other five artists at Jacaranda Cultural Centre (JCC) in Blantyre in The Beauty of Art exposition, has dedicated his painting titled ‘Free the Witch Hunter: The Audio Saga’ to all women as the world commemorated the International Women’s Day yesterday.
The painting which was in the social media domain recently and has, among others, the face of Anti-Corruption Bureau Director Martha Chizuma is a prima facie masterpiece which is a political satire depicting the political tension surrounding the subject.
Banda said the painting speaks for itself, especially for those who live in Malawi, and that it is an aficionado of news and current affairs.
“While mystery lies in the eyes of those who are curious and would love to know more about the artwork, apart from object gestures, the piece uses different colours to represent particular aspects, primal and deep, as involved with the issues therein,” he said.
He further said that the chief colours of the piece are black, red and green which stand for the literal setting and that black and gray emphasise darkness, wickedness, mystery and anonymity.
“There are flags of two overseas countries which represent the donor community which is seen to intervene in the commotion; there is also the purple background which represents the feminist theory as far as one may relate to the storyline and may be taken further to how much women are treated in the modern socio-legal and political world in terms of leadership, hence the red jacket represents the dangers and risks contained in the subject position,” Banda said.
Despite being dedicated to women, Banda also said that the painting speaks for itself and that it was inspired by the unexpressed grief by many.
Banda said he is using his art and knowledge in law to communicate while addressing certain social, legal and economic challenges facing Malawi.
The exhibition runs up to March 18 2023.
Meanwhile, JCC will tomorrow host Nep Sounds Band during Sounds of Malawi Acoustic Session.
