Celimpilo Dlamini
“I was born and spent my childhood in Simunye, the second of three children. After primary school in Simunye I went on to do my high school at Waterford Kamhlaba in Mbabane, my completion of which coincided with my family’s relocating to Mpolonjeni in Mbabane, where I now live. After O’ level I started the IB course at Waterford but didn’t complete it as I left after a year. This was followed by an unfinished BSc degree at UNISWA and a couple of unfinished business diplomas at different institutions, all of which has left a bit of a blemish on my academic career, which was quite promising to begin with. I do maintain, however, that this will be rectified in due course.
I have always enjoyed drawing and I did take art as a subject in school and I enjoyed it, under some amazing teachers. Later I set out to learn more about art and painting, mainly from books and practicing, and even the internet. I have come to prefer using oil paint as a medium, due to the variety of effects that can be produced with it – from very rich to pale colours; very thin to thick application and even its slower drying time allows for working and reworking that other mediums do not.
I draw inspiration mainly from what I see around me, whether it be a landscape, a person or people, or even odd objects lying around and therefore I would say that my art is “representational” for the most part. However, my aim is never to reproduce what I have seen on a canvas, but rather to capture, in a sense, some of the underlying components that make up the scene, for example the colours, textures, reflections, transparencies etc. Having never studied art formally, I find that each painting in progress becomes an individual challenge in working out how to produce these desired effects and that each completed painting becomes a personal achievement.”
Celimpilo’s work can be viewed at Yebo Art Gallery in Ezulwini and online at www.yeboswaziland.com