Skobo sa botsana

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Size: 78 x 97 cm

Year: 2024

Curatorial Note

In this explosive work titled "Skobo sa botsana," Donald Masoga unleashes a torrent of raw, uninhibited energy that challenges the viewer's perception of portraiture. The canvas erupts with a cacophony of brilliant yellows, deep blues, and visceral reds, applied with a frenetic combination of drips, splatters, and vigorous strokes. From this chaos, a highly stylized, mask-like face emerges, defined by bold, geometric outlines in purple and turquoise. Its hexagonal eyes and jagged, crown-like hair give it a primal, totemic quality. The painting is pure neo-expressionism, prioritizing raw emotion and the physical act of creation over realistic depiction, resulting in a work that feels both immediate and profoundly complex.

The title, "Skobo sa botsana," which translates from Sesotho to "The Fool of Beauty" or "Beauty's Fool," imbues the visual anarchy with a sharp, critical edge. Unlike a conventional portrait that might explore a person's relationship with beauty, this work seems to attack the very concept itself. Masoga deconstructs and shatters aesthetic conventions, presenting a face that is anything but traditionally beautiful. In doing so, he critiques societal standards and the superficial "mask" of beauty. The "fool" in the title is perhaps not a person, but the shallow pursuit of an idealized form. Through this powerful act of visual rebellion, Masoga finds a more authentic and compelling beauty in the raw, unfiltered chaos of pure expression.