Escape with visual artist Moses Masoabi aka Thee Africanist

“Art is my escape from this illusive reality. Art is the true feeling of humanity which follows no rules or social norms. I am Moses Masoabi aka Thee Africanist. You don't know me yet.”

 

 

 

  

In my pursuit of expanding my circle of artsy friends, I stumbled over a couple of individuals on Facebook that projected a sense of artistry I could relate to and that had the potential of inspiring even my own works of art. Among the strikingly creative personalities, one particular fella stood out for me, Moses Moss Masoabi, who also goes by the name, Thee Africanist. His profile had a welcoming attribute to it which coaxed me into privately engaging with him on a one on one interaction to find out more about what he does. Within 3 days of mutual contact I had gathered that he not only draws amazing pictures, but he also aspires to become a professional artist.

Moses Moss Masoabi, is a self-taught visual artist who’s always had an interest in the art of drawing. Born in Carletonville, South East of Johannesburg in the late winter of 92, Moss drew from the changes around him as an influence towards his creativity. His mother was a domestic worker and his father worked at a horse race track in Turrefontein. When he was about 2 years old, his mother found a new job in the suburbs of Florida. It was then that they decided to move to Roodepoort. Moss lived with his mother in a back room where she was working and would see his father twice a week. When he turned 3 he began adopting a habit in drawing, “I used to scribble on walls and that got me into a lot of trouble, so my mom bought me a note book. A lot of my imagination would escape onto paper; I would create my own soccer players and characters”.

 

 

By the time he got to primary school around 1999, he wasn't all that interested in drawing as he was previously. He was rather a more playful and naughty 7 year old, who was keen on exploring the wonderments of his childhood. When he got to grade 3 his spark came alight again and he found himself illustrating characters from Dragon BallZ, which he says was a huge thing back then. 

“I was never praised about my art work because there was a guy named "Aaron" - (ironically Aaron & Moses relate) - we would compete in drawing and he'd kick my ass all the time lol. I remember in grade 4 during arts & culture we were given a project to draw boats, I came up with a cool design where everyone wanted me to draw for them.

In grade 5 during an art class our art teacher was furious at us (especially the boys) with this trend of Dragon BallZ. She said something that stuck with me till now. She said ‘you go around bragging about how skilled you are in drawing, yet you are all fooling yourselves; copying people's work and claiming how good you are. None of you will grow in art because you seek validation in copying someone else's ideas’. From then I knew I would never undermine my work”.

Moss creates random pieces of art which he does through various drawing techniques, mainly Zengtangle, Stippling and Crosshatch. His pictures focus primarily on extracting subdued emotion and feeling from the viewer by way of black pen and pencil as his medium. He rarely uses colour due to the nature of his dark and abstract appeal.

His creative process begins with a faint outline drawn with a 2H pencil for the purposes of creating a perfect image. He then brings in the elements of shading whether with a black pen or a darker shade of pencil to build and add dimensions to the subject. Sometimes, he uses shapes, grid or a ruler so that every aspect of the image is proportionately aligned. While he prefers using black pen as his medium, every picture has a unique quality with a specific signature ambiance.

By Moses Masoabi

Being an only child, he spent most of his days alone, mulling away at his thoughts which forced him to keep busy. This shaped the quality of art he now makes. Growing up became a challenge for this star-born creative because of his uncertainty of whether or not to pursue a career in the arts - his constant self-doubt made him transition back and forth his appetite for drawing and his love for soccer. “I remember one of my closest friends saying, ‘Ag dude, you’re such a sissy, art won't get you nowhere man, only girls do art for a living’. While I got into football, I still carried a great passion for art”. Despite the shift from art to soccer, his constant yearning for drawing kept reeling him in more towards himself until one day he decided to give up the sport. This didn’t please his father at all but went against the odds regardless.

When he finally reached matric his goal was to pass and get into varsity to chase his dream in graphic design. After attending an open day event at a college in Randburg it dawned on him that his parents wouldn’t be able to afford his fees. When he was in his 1st year of unemployment going from pillar to post looking for a college that would provide him with a bursary, with numerous attempts and no luck at all, he slipped into depression and anxiety that he yet again relapsed and abandoned his illustrations. With the faith of his parents he became motivated to find a job as a painter and construction worker, and soon enough he went back into drawing, where he was also introduced into the creative world of fashion, photography and other forms of art.

By Moses Masoabi

Moses has always been experimental in his ways and says that his art allows him to do just that. He mentions how he uses his art as a form of escapism where he searches deep within himself to provoke feelings from the observer. Although his current work depicts a more contemporary approach, he’s inspired by digital art work such as animation, and transporting that into textiles. “I don’t want to limit myself, I want to be a multi-skilled artist.”

Ideas often flow naturally and only make sense in an artist’s mind and can rarely ever be explained but demonstrated. Thee Africanist as a brand aims to show all Moss’ attributes, abilities and ambitions, from who is he is to where he is going. “I feel that my art shows that I’m a freedom fighter and not just an artist, I still fight for my freedom. And that’s how the name, Thee Africanist, came about - from the inspiration of trying to change the perception that people have about black people. The name is actually from a movement during the Apartheid era where the Pan Africanists were against the Apartheid government and I felt that it had black consciousness. It isn’t just a name, it’s something powerful.”

Moss continues to create more illustrations and says that he hopes to see his work at various galleries in South Africa. Anyone who is instantly drawn to his work – excuse the pun – is set to be an addition to his audience; people who possess a deep understanding of feeling and emotion of complexity, a sense of seriousness and distance, better yet, who have a love for art.

 

Follow him on his Tumblr Blog The Africanist
Like his Facebook page Escapism

By Angela Nimah © RVL 2015