SOUTH Africa-based brothers Chris and Splendor Black have brought a refreshing atmosphere to the visual arts industry through their replica images.
The former Chinhoyi High School students who are doubling as students and artists in Mzansi (South Africa) hogged the limelight after creating hyper realism art pencil and paint drawings of former flamboyant boxing champion Floyd Maywether, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga as well as several celebrities in Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa. The Blacks said they started enjoying art as a hobby from childhood and were ambitious to change the history of art by bringing forth true images of the past.
NewsDay Life & Style met the Blacks at the Harare National Art Gallery where they were seeking assistance on their attention drawing two dimensional art. Commenting on their highly trended SABC Live interview, they said they captured the attention of the South African national broadcaster through confidence gained from people’s Facebook comments and their social media posts.
“When we visited Mzansi for the first time we drew several pictures of prominent persons and gainfully most of them were posted on Instagram. It drew us lots of leads and we were eventually spotted by SABC.
“South Africa is a multi-racial and cultural country. In spite of emerging political tensions, Mzansi communities appreciate art and take pride in being associated with their culture and identities,” they said.
Splendor said his road to visibility as a charcoal pencil artist started when he brought a drawing to class which he meant to finish during the lunch break. A friend spotted it and drew the attention of the teachers and fellow students. The Art teacher was very impressed and challenged Splendor to take an additional examinable subject which was Art. Splendor accepted through their parents blessings and took Art as a subject at Ordinary and Advanced Levels and came out with good passes.
Chris was also born an artist, but had hidden that side of him for years because he was concentrating on his studies. The two only came to be noticed when they were tasked to do portraits for Mnangagwa and Chiwenga.
“We are students in Mzansi and we are studying lots of things, among them making money,” they laughed.
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“We encourage all the people who would like to partake in art to accept that life is a process. Perfect practice helped us to attain this level of competence and we wish to improve ourselves with each and every job.”
Chris and Splendor co-operate in doing two dimensional art.
“As brothers we have a mission to change the history of art through showcasing what people have not seen in the past.
“We do two dimensional art that shows a before and aftermath. Our union as artists began from home and was blessed at Chinhoyi High School where teachers would give us some tasks to do.
“Our two dimensional portraits are done on a wooden grid which would show a changing past into a present and continuing into the future,” they said.
Asked how their artistry has changed their lifestyle, the Blacks declined to comment, saying it was not the right time because they were still focusing more on making a name.
“We wish to apologise that despite being associated with big names. We are not yet financially reputable and that is why at one time I told you that we are students in Mzansi studying a lot of things and one of them is money.
“People tend to have a misconception that a billionaire pays more for what everybody else pays for a dollar. We are still growing in the industry and we are obviously looking for more creative spaces that will make us reach our desired levels of satisfaction,” Chris said.
The Blacks said if resources permitted and with the permission of their old and new clients they would like to host an exhibition at one of the local galleries which would give people a clear picture of their intention to change people’s perception of their history through art.
“We are still planning to hold an exhibition which will showcase our wide range of artistry. This will in turn help us to be known by our own people of Zimbabwe including inspiring international buyers and curators,” they said.
