The Texture of Contemporary African Art
By Wakilisha Staff
Elsa Gebreyesus lived in Ethiopia, Kenya, and the United States before going to Brock University in Ontario, Canada., to pursue her BA. After Eritrea won its independence from Ethiopia, she lived there for five years, working as a Project Officer with an indigenous women's organization. After leaving Eritrea, she came to the U. S. where she's been pursuing her lifelong passion for art. In addition to her passion for art, she also volunteers and works with organizations involved with human rights issues especially in Africa. She continues to learn from artists she admires and has been greatly influenced by modernist painters from both Africa and the West.
She was one of the lucky ones to leave Eritrea when the leadership got totalitarian under President Afwerki. Her family not only had the means to leave, but she'd also been in Canada, and after returning to Eritrea in 1997, she married and came to the USA to join her husband.
I first met Elsa about five years ago--in the summer preceding the last general elections. The streets of the Capitol were steeming with old and young alike denouncing the exploitation of the developing nations by the World Bank and the IMF. We camped outside the World Bank and screamed "What do we want?" "Justice." "When do we want it?" "Now."
Speaking to Elsa later at a dinner fundraiser organized by 50 Years is Enough, formerly run by Njoki Njoroge Njehu-Soren and her husband Soren--among other kindred souls from all over the world--it was somewhat difficult to reconcile the activist joining in the chants of "Aluta Continua," to the almost-quiet, but affable artist. In her generosity, she contributed some of her best paintings for auction that night; and I'm happy to say that I am a proud owner of one. The days of activism for a non-Washington D.C. resident like me seem like a distant dream, but Wakilisha Magazine wishes to celebrate this artist who brings so much warmth and pride to the African Diaspora.
In Her Own Words
Each of my paintings starts with a loose sketch, landscape, or object and is built up with layer upon layer of paint. Often it will be in a state of chaos before the process of adding and subtracting begins. I do not start with an end in mind when I begin a painting, instead the challenge is to find the end. This process to me is a type of meditation--an intimate conversation between the materials and myself.
I am drawn to abstract compositions because they require us to stop and reflect, to ask questions. Abstract art is also open to multiple interpretations. Each viewer will bring his or her own experiences into play as they contemplate the work. This adds another dimension to the artwork, a sort of interactive communication that flows from the artist, to the painting and eventually the viewer.
In some of my paintings I use collage to enhance the surfaces of the canvases. I enjoy working with acrylic paint because of its versatility enabling me to work in light washes or thick applications. Drawing media in the paintings are caran d?ache and graphite. Some pieces incorporate text from my native language, Tigrinya. I also use sand and other texture media all part of the process of building visual stories that reflect experiences and internal states.
Tigrinya is one of the official languages spoken in Eritrea, a small East African country. It has a phonetic writing system consisting of symbols that represent syllables. Using these symbols in my paintings reflects my connection to my cultural heritage and enables me to express my views about the current situation in Eritrea.
Painting, to me, is similar to composing music and/or writing poetry; it creates harmony between our physical, spiritual and intellectual selves. While painting, I “lose” my self in the work, and my openness to the process of creativity is what guides me through to the completion of a painting. My constant aim is to integrate my mind, body and spirit in my work and produce art that visually communicates internal states, emotions and ideas to the viewer.
Visit her Web site at www.elsabet.com.
