Conversation with an Artist
Bekezela Ncube is an amazing visual artist. Based in Zimbabwe’s second capital city of Bulawayo he continues to defy odds. Though he has limited use of hands due to his disability Bekeleza transcends societal expectations through his bespoke art works. Recently we caught up with him and had a virtual chat. The conversation is the following:
T.H.Z: How did you begin your journey as an artist with disability?
Bekezela: I didn’t have any conceptualization of disability when I began to draw wrestlers & comic book characters. I was quite young, third grade, so I just did what I did & the positive feedback loop just took over.
T.H.Z: Most artists work on inspiration. Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Bekeleza: I’d say “the spirit of masculinity”. The most intelligent people (the highest IQs) are male, at the same time, the people who suffer from learning disabilities are mostly males. Look at the stats, men run the world, the big CEOs, but then men suffer the most, look at prisons, war casualties etc. In other words, we’re the extreme sex, you’re teetering between pathetic & powerful all your life, there’s not much middle ground. That gives me inspiration. Accepting how the odds are stacked against you, but having the will to conquer, & not becoming resentful if you meet failure. Secondly, it’s beauty. I have an obsession for beauty.
T.H.Z: What lead you choose the art form you employ in your artistic impression?
Bekeleza: A lot of things, really. I’m mostly a 2d artist, I stick to paper, canvas, & at times 2D graphics. I just didn’t like the local sculptures, I still don’t, I wouldn’t imagine myself being part of that group of artists. Comics are 2D, I think it’s a first love thing. Also, I couldn’t swing a hammer all day even if I wanted to.
T.H.Z: There is a belief that most people with disabilties are naturally artistically talented what’s your take on this?
Bekeleza: I’m not sure if there’s much clinical data to support this, plus, disability is so wide there’s fundamental differences amongst ourselves. I’m not sure why there’s such an assumption. It makes sense for Ray Charles & Stevie Wonder to be keyboardists because if you’re visually impaired, you’ve more tactile awareness, but just art, I wouldn’t know. There’s no psychological literature that suggests that persons with disability are higher in openness & extraversion which are the two traits that common in artists, I think.
T.H.Z: As an artist what are some of your most memorable experiences?
Bekeleza: Getting a chance to draw naked women, in live drawing tutorials, before I was 18. I noticed I was an elite of some sort at that point, after that, my confidence shot through the roof, & things have never been the same.
T.H.Z: What should be done to boost the work of artists with disabilties?
Bekeleza: Encouraging them to compete with the best. I know when “artists with disabilities”, which is just so broad a catch again, are brought up in empowerment discussions, the focus is on maybe an exclusive competition or something, but that won’t help us grow. I’ve won more than once at national level, & the competitions weren’t exclusively for persons with disabilities.
T.H.Z: What are your final sentiments regarding disability and art?
Bekeleza: Art, just like disability, has a lot of definitions. I’d say the links that comes immediately to me when I run these definitions in my head are first, “being OK with being different”. Nowadays we celebrate being different, I’m not really a fan because the catch net is wide again, pedophilia can be viewed as “different”. A second link between disability & art would be transcendence. You’re given an A4 paper & some graphite, some people make exceptional art out of something that seems so limited. That’s kind of how I’ve lived my life. I was given what I was given, but how I live is my choice, how I live my life is art.
Below are some of Bekeleza’s art works:
Bekeleza can be contacted through the following email and social media handles:
bekezelankosana@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/bekezela.nkosana on Facebook
@ZelatheLawless on Twitter