Ng’andwe Mwaba is no stranger to the Zambian Art scene. Distinguishing himself from other artists by neither using brush nor paint for most of his works, his drawing technique itself is art not seen before. The German Embassy proudly presents him as the “Artist of the Month” in September 2014 and lets his words speak and elaborate on his works in the following statement by the artist himself:

“My  work  addresses  issues  of a simple  lifestyle  which  possesses  energy  with  immense magnitude  of metamorphosis, a kind  that  does  not need  rocket science  to  improve. With  warm  colours,  my paintings  try  to bring  a sight  of acceptance, delight  and comfort. When  I was younger, I was very  obsessed with  the ideologies  of  progress on the expense  of expensive  and sophisticated means, but  then I  discovered that the voice lies in little  things  that are  given  minimum  attention. Things  like a ballpoint  pen, essentially a  writing tool mainly used for signing contracts, writing prescription, making  commitments and  many others things.

It is  the  definition, precision and effectiveness  of this inexpensive  tool that gives me the confidence  to create  work  that expresses  feeling in a still,  but  rather expressive  drawing. A bit  of colour  in the drawing  describes  the need  to recognise the migration from a rather calm  environment  to a  more digitalised  world . In order to address  the social context more vividly, an introduction to drawing  on  canvas made me  address more with increasing size, making it more  precise  to the layman’s eye.

Growing up in Copperbelt-Province in an environment where  people  came  from  different  parts  of my  country Zambia turned  out  to be  the most  creative moment  of my childhood. It also gave me the opportunity  to be exposed  to patrons  from different  traditional backgrounds, tribes  and languages  with  a unique  but  vivid  perspective  towards culture.

As an artist, it is  partly  through  this experience that I have  developed  humane interests in  interaction, even as we also derive inspiration  from  other aspects  such as  nature, the society and social involvements, just to mention a few.”

Ng’andwe Mwaba has most recently gone public with “Kuchabu” in Lusaka displaying his entire artistic range by exhibiting his signature ballpoint pen drawings, acrylic paintings on canvas and a combination of both. Please find his contact details on the right and a selection of his brilliant work in our online art Gallery.