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Street art is not alien

 

Innocent Willinga is a leading figure in Malawi’s street art, otherwise known as mural art. A mural is a large image, such as a painting or enlarged photograph, applied directly to a wall or ceiling. Willinga murals paint bring colour to Blantyre’s landscape. The first one, commissioned a decade ago, can be seen on the wall of the historical Old Mandala Building. He recently completed work on a bigger, second work at Ryalls Hotel in Blantyre. He talks to Chill about this and more.

Willinga: I am a mural revolutionist in Malawi
Willinga: I am a mural revolutionist in Malawi

 

Q

: Briefly, give us a definition of what street art is?

A

: Street art entails any figurative or graphics that may clad our city walls, it may be decorative or informative, much as we have advertorials which may have the purpose of luring people into buying as well as decorating dirty walls

 

Q

: Why is it that the art of murals seems not to have caught up in Malawi?

A

: Mural art is only springing in Malawi at a slow pace because most corporates  are only thinking of adverting and the walls spaces have been clad by such much as we all know many walls are dirty and for me they are blank canvas on which I can, after being granted permission by either banks or corporates, attack them with murals depicting many local and daily stories unlike graffiti artists who will do such illegally.  But, of course, in the first world, graffiti artists are even encouraged to put up some crazy good works on walls of city sides that are dead.

 

Q

: You have been a pioneer or murals in Malawi, with two commissioned works at Mandala and another at Ryalls Hotel. How receptive has the corporate world been to the mural art?

A

: It has been tricky where you only hear comments like ‘wow! great works or ‘ooh yeah we saw that colourful painting’ but it ends there. Much as I have lobbied to have commissions for such from corporates who may seem to help in other areas and not nurturing art and artist and, yes, I am a mural revolutionist in Malawi. They haven’t really been available for artists to this date.

 

Q

: What is the public’s perception to your art?

A

: Radical, touching and beautiful

 

Q

: What is the title of your recent art at Ryalls Hotel and what does it depict?

A

: It’s called Quest for Clean City Walls and it is a colour interplay depicting people in the formal and informal sector, keeping time. There is graphic on it which says ‘I Love Blantyre’ which only requires one to have the eye to pick it up.

 

Q

: Why do you think street art is an important aspect of aesthetics in cities such as Blantyre?

A

: It not only cleans the dirt and grime on walls it also makes our city to be in synch with outside world cities where this is the trend too, so we will seem to be moving with others out there.

 

Q

: How and where did you learn the art of murals?

A

: I studied art and design in South Africa and this was part of my case studies. And, as an artist, I have the liberty to simply do paintings or go flat out to the city streets or banking halls which I am waiting to tackle since banks have people of all walks of life and why not remind them of what is important. We need to remember who we are.

 

Q

: How have you localised that to the Malawian scene?

A

: I am a man about people I strive to make sure my stories are relatable or I may be reporting anything that is on the rise, for example water problems or traffic jams, or climate change or religion or fashion or a dance.

Q

: Ii is not a foreign concept in Malawi and Africa at large?

A

: Not at all. Malawi has not been able to startup this. Fortunately, most people are exposed and have travelled far and wide and this is not news at all that is why I am delving into it to remind them that we also can have it at home and tell our stories by our local artist.

 

Q

: After Ryalls, what next for Innocent Willinga?

A

: Like I said, I am not waiting and I do art out of passion and money comes in later. So, my next projects are green attached where I intend to do my art which also supports green environments. So, what’s next? I will leave it to myself and let’s watch the space.n

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