​Contemporary South African Art

Gamnqoa (the heel (hock) of a lion) found in his art a meaningful link to his past. It enlivens memories that would otherwise have been lost to dwell in his mind only.  Gamnqoa was named after his grandfather whom he believes was given this name because lions had harassed their family during his birth.

Gamnqoa is about 50 years old. During the time when he was born, his people still lived as hunter-gatherers. There was no formal employment and very few other people lived near them.

He learned how to survive in the bush at a very young age. Gamnqoa is a good tracker and can easily recognise and distinguish the spoor of different animals.

He remembers many animals like hartebeest, wildebeest, gemsbok, eland, kudu, springbok and more. He was troubled by the thought of how to keep his memories of these animals fresh. He tried to make drawings in the sand, but they vanished. He also tried to make some woodcarvings, but it was only after he had seen the paintings at the Kuru art Project that he had found the solution.

He came to the Kuru Art Project in 1997 where he participated in a workshop for new artists.  He paints with oil on canvas, and mastered the reduction lino technique. He had also made some etchings and had tried lithography during a workshop at the Art Project. He often works directly onto the canvas or lino block without preliminary sketches.

Gamnqoa has no formal education and used to work as a farm labourer and lorry boy on the large transport trucks when he was younger. He has got nine children and is still supporting most of them. He would like his children to become artists also.

The honest approach that Gamnqoa has towards his art, the detail which speaks of an in depth knowledge of the things he depicts and the bright colours has made his work popular at all places he has exhibited. He likes to experiment with different techniques and is in a peculiar way very conscious about final detail. Like most of the Kuru artists he likes bright colours and has no colour preference at all. He prefers to work flat e.g. with no perspective or moulding of form.

Gamnqoa was one of the main artists to illustrate the children’s book, “Ostrich and Lark” by Marilyn Nelson. This book was awarded as one of the best books for young children by the Children’s Africana Book Awards Committee in the USA.

Ref:  www.kuruart.com