BY OWETHU DLAMINI
MBABANE- A young man with a passion!
Thembinkosi Mabuza is an artist found at Ludzeludze in the Manzini Region, whose talents lean towards fine arts as he has an eye for detail.
As he expressed his love for art during an interview with this Eswatini Positive News (EPN) reporter, Mabuza recalled how he started drawing; attributing another artist, Wandile Shlongonyane, whose work he saw and felt inspired by. From that moment, Mabuza felt the need to learn more about art and pave his journey into what he knew he could achieve through it.
“I started drawing at a very tender age when I was in primary school at Ludzeludze Primary School. I was inspired by Wandile Shlongonyane, who is an artist as well, as he was passing by with his paintings. From that point on, I felt that I could draw too. I prayed to God asking Him to guide and help me if this talent was truly meant for me as I am a person who loves sports as well. God being who He led me into being the artist I am today,” said Mabuza.
The young man expressed his gratitude towards his family because they had been supportive of him throughout his journey. He also went on to thank the people who had been interacting with him on his different social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram), recognising his work.
He mentioned that he had so many dreams that he wished to achieve as he continued working in this industry and with his love for challenges, he genuinely believed that all these dreams could come true.
“In my work as an artist, my family has been so much supportive, more especially my mother who constantly tells me never to give up on my dream. She is one of the people who support me the most. I also appreciate the love, comments and exposure I get from clients through social media, especially Facebook and Instagram, it has played a major role in my line of work.
“I want to keep learning how to draw as I’m working towards becoming one of the best fine art artists in Swaziland and in Africa as well. If I would get an opportunity to present my work at one of the well-known events that take place in the country such as the Bush Fire Festival, I would be so delighted because of the exposure that I would get from that. We all know that people from the country attend these events, but my work would also get recognition from neighbouring and international countries. This would allow people to learn more about our culture and even buy my art pieces,” expressed Mabuza.
Mabuza shared that learning from others through research and being humble was something very important to him saying that was something he hoped to instill in himself as he chased his dream.
