[intro]The Journalist has had the privilege and joy of working with a rare group of talented young people, mostly in the Free State. This week we feature the artistry of an addition to the fold, a young woman from Machabeng College in Lesotho. Without much training teenager Mpho Sephelane has already carved an indelible place for herself in the visual arts world. Her photo essays speak for themselves.[/intro]
I knew that photography was what I wanted to do when I picked up my mum’s Blackberry one day and took photos of my brother. I was very pleased with the results. Of course, they weren’t the best quality pictures but as a visual artist I was intrigued by the beauty of the sky captured by the phone. It is after that incident that I talked to my IT teacher who sold me a second-hand camera for me to use. I’ve never stopped taking pictures ever since.
This picture was taken in a rundown house close to where we live. Young people usually go there to smoke. The title of this photo is “Faces”. But usually I like to pose the question; “What do you see?”. It’s always very interesting to hear the audience’s interpretation of the work. I see a young modern girl with an unidentified, faceless character by her side possibly steering her in the wrong direction. Maybe towards ultimately losing her identity and lose her “face”, hence the ironic title!
It is difficult to talk about my art sometimes but I draw my inspiration from my surroundings! Be it my family, my friends, my city and the world at large!
One of my favourite styles of photography is high contrasts of light and dark.
This photo was inspired by the idea of human perception and potential. Potential to stand firm, confident and lit in darkness despite our different setbacks and circumstances.
I would like to inspire young artists in Lesotho, especially females because this is generally a male dominated field.
I’d really like to motivate people and share stories and thoughts that could hopefully change someone’s life or perspective of the world.
I also want to rectify the perception that the only value of art is aesthetics and that it is hardly educational or morally valuable!
