Ellis Singano was never meant to be an artist. His father, himself an artist, discouraged him from painting at an early age, hoping instead that his son would pursue more lucrative ambitions in science and medicine. At the age of eighteen, when his father passed away, Singano embarked on completing the unfinished paintings his father had left behind. As his admirers grew, he began to cultivate a style of his own. Ellis Singano is now one of Malawi’s most celebrated artists, enjoying recognition across Malawi and exhibiting as far afield as Japan, England, Germany and the USA.
He works in Batik, a medium in cloth using ink and wax, and his works draw stylistic influence from the Impressionists while remaining thematically grounded in Malawi. The subject matter of the works is diverse, sometimes looking back to scenes from the ancient folktales.
The batiks range from dark didacticism to bright optimism, and in their abstraction allow for the one simultaneously to compliment and oppose the other. Singano strongly believes that the viewer’s interpretation should be what defines any “meaning” behind the painting, but below he explains the process behind some of his works.
An impression
