Botswana Art

Botswana's art is varied. Essentially it falls into two categories: that of the Kung peoples (also known as the San or the Bushmen tribes) and that of the Nguni-derived peoples such as the Batswana. The former is of greater antiquity in origin, and includes decoration of many of the devices and equipment the Kung needed for desert existence. Items such as ostrich shells, clay water filters, animal skins, arrows, bows and pots often received added decoration by way of incised or relief decoration, imprinted pottery decoration, beading and carving. These tribes also carved art objects that had no other function, most often of animals. A more ancient art is that of cave painting, for which the Kung are justifiably famous: right across the South-East African region their ancestors left dynamic paintings on cave walls, executed in unknown and highly resilient pigments that have lasted millennia. Depictions of animals, hunts, ceremonies and dances are common.

Researching into Botswanan art gave me the idea to see what kind of art they make over in Africa and try to interpret it into my work. The fact they use found materials to produce their work such as mud, clay and found animal skins really inspires me to try and create womanly figures using these kinds of interesting, different materials and see how well it works within my project.