We interviewed the artist Dialo as part of the newly released catalog "Modigliani and the artists" by Salvo Nugnes, curator, journalist and essayist, which includes some of the amazing artworks of the talented and inspiring Dialo.
How was your passion for art born and how did you approach it?
At a young age when I saw my Mother do an artwork, I felt if she can attempt drawing and it comes out impressively that one can notice that she’s been trying to draw a certain person/portrait, it was a direct challenge to myself to say why not me, why can I not try it.
From that spark as I progressed to Primary school level, practicing art was always a joy to me more than any other subject. That I believe strongly built the drive to be passionate about art. When I reached secondary level, I was now doing art with all my heart so much that I chose to write only 3 subjects for my ordinary level examinations, art being one of them, yet our education system required we write a minimum of 5. It was now clear to me what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
The fact that practicing or learning a subject such as Art is different from when you are living it, when it becomes part of your life. I came to a point where I had to address certain important questions, to say that what am I going to do with art ? Not only for people to see my work and say beautiful, but how can I use it as a medium in transformation of lives, to be a witchdoctor with art, a shamanic cure, a pastor with art in line with the healing of the nations.
Through research and travelling around Southern Africa exploring the art world, I had space and time trying to get to understand how best I can lay out my communication tool. After years of experimenting Dialoism was born.
What does your art tell about you, what are the ideals, thoughts, feelings, and emotions that inspired your works?
My art speaks about how much I care about respecting the creator and creation. The world is now at a state where it is heavily dense with negativity. We have progressed so much technologically, yet people are unhappier than before. Socially unrest is at a rise with high rates of suicide, mental illness, drug use and many other social ailments. It is important to restore the natural order and that can be achieved through a revolution, a certain kind of spiritual awakening.
My work being influenced by my environment, I strive to give solutions and remedies to several various social issues. This is achieved by a deep meditative process connecting to the originator of the universe with love, in turn every artwork becoming a prayer.
How much of your person do you think transpires in your art?
The direction of the journey in each artwork starts by being humble, appreciating the gift from the creator and understanding that it is just like a relay stick that I receive from Him to create when I’m on Earth while he creates from Heaven. To take that spiritual chore given by the Almighty with understanding it is a precious duty.
The approach of having an imagination to say what if I start an artwork. What if I speak what is in me which is not yet in any medium but is still spiritual, how do I share it on a surface? Through dedication I challenge myself to just begin. It can start in many various ways for example using a pencil a rough sketch can emerge, sometimes it can be shapes or bits and pieces of paper that I use and I breathe into it, and receive the light from the source because I ask for it to produce the remedies that are good to heal the people while I’m on earth and when I’m gone.
You took part in this important catalog "Modigliani Prize", to make your art known also in Italy, what is the message you want to convey to us with your works?
At this moment in time the world is taking a different dimension. We are no longer stating the dangers, troubles or problems we have on Earth but we are now addressing them by coming up with the remedies and solutions for healing. We are also reviving the spiritual journeys that our ancestors used to take part in using art with no intent of commercializing. This time is about honesty, speaking heartily and contribute to help the world.
What are the future projects for your art?
The main agenda is to build an establishment for Siphulwazi Visual Arts Organization which is a non-profit organization meant to groom, help and assist all artists in our community mainly targeting the young grassroots since 2016. The purpose being that all I have learnt and achieved to be shared with others and generations to come for the upliftment of communities by having many more artist doctors. The centre will be the custodian of our community art where we write and experiment with our art as well creating archives to store and keep records of our art showing how our communities evolve over time for centuries to come.
Lastly at a personal level it is doing international shows, spreading the word to the world. For our country it is now us speaking as Africans to the world uninfluenced, what has been forgotten now being remembered, the natural order and as Africans declaring our own first visual art movement Dialoism meaning ‘it is the way it is’.
