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The dire effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are in full display in an artistic expression courtesy of exquisite works produced by students and alumni from the university’s fashion and fine art departments.
Themed “Together We Live”, the Easter Cape Design Focus online exhibition showcases a wide range of works comprising 36 pieces ranging from a plethora of disciplines that give a reflection of the lived experience of the artists during the era of Covid-19.
“The works displayed in this exhibition were produced specifically for this exhibition and are a multi-disciplinary representation of skills ranging from garments, ceramics and prints – works that represent a story unique to the trials and tribulations of our artists during the pandemic,” said WSU visual arts lecturer and co-curator Litha Ncokazi.
As part of the elaborate and thorough creative process, the artists underwent an incubation period in Ncokazi’s personal studio wherein guidance, intense conceptualization and sharing of ideas reigned supreme.
Ncokazi said the incubation period was of critical as it afforded the artists an opportunity only industry professionals get to experience – being equipped with the use of figurative language, the power of symbolism and the conscious application of those elements in the entire process.
“Also critical to this process was the academic aspect in the form of intense research about the topic of Covid-19. You can’t be optimal in your creativity if you haven’t researched thoroughly on your topic,” said Ncokazi.
WSU Fashion department lecturer, Busisiwe Nodada, who’s mental fortitude gave rise to the EC Design Focus concept, shared accounts of great strife WSU fine art and fashion graduates have faced following the outbreak of the virus.
She said hardly a few months after the outbreak, calls characterized by panic and desperation flooded her phone by graduates whose livelihoods were at stake.
“The desperation from my students shocked me into realising that as creatives and mentors we must, by all means, try to remain present in the space because of the desperate need of our artists who’re struggling. Part of the reason I started this programme was to answer those calls and create a platform for our artists to showcase their skills,” said Nodada.
She appealed to the designers to diversity their skillsets so as to avoid being one-dimensional by moving from being fashion designers or painters to “creative artists” so that their brands can be more attractive.
BCC Fashion graduate Sibongile Mqwelane, lost her aunt and cousin due to the virus, chose to use black for her three-piece set of dresses because of the colour’s synonymy with the death and despair.
“The sudden and infectious nature of this virus means that I didn’t even get to see my aunt and cousin or say goodbye to them. That was the most painful part of all in losing them.
The exhibition is strictly online and can be viewed on the Eastern Cape Design Focus Facebook page or on their website at ecdesignfocus.co.za.
By Thando Cezula
