FIFI WALE BREAKS INTO DIGITAL ART
Boasts clients such as St. Louis, Nasty C
The eye- catching St. Louis graphics on a billboard by the KBL brewery in Broadhurst, Gaborone, is the creative efforts of Refilwe ‘ Fifi’ Wale, a prolific self- taught concept artist.
The year 2020 has been a breakthrough for the young lady who hails from Serowe, as she got to design for international artist Gemini Major and soon after that, music platform Spotify shared her work and heaped praise on her. She also designed the Nasty C’s Netflix Zulu Man in Japan documentary poster, shot and directed by Eyes of Teddy. Most notably, she designed for the St. Louis # Mo_ Ke_ Botswana campaign; she did the mural design and billboard at the KBL premises. In an interview, Wale shared that after school she took a gap year to think about what she wanted to do with her life. She later enrolled at University of Limkokwing and obtained a degree in BA Honours Creative Multimedia as a back- up plan. She loved art, but she wasn’t sure how to monetise her talent, and whether being an artist would be a successful endeavour, but her mother gave her the nudge she needed to take the chance. “I have been drawing since I was very young but I only took it seriously in 2013, when my mother Elizabeth Wale, encouraged me to draw again. At the time, it was just a hobby, but over time, some people wanted to pay me for it.” Wale has since merged her drawing and digital skills and the result is mind- blowing. She said her job is to basically bring ideas to life in a form of a digital drawing using lines, colour, characters and other objects. “It is very flexible, it can be used for Album and song covers, posters, murals, website headboards, packaging etc,” she said. She noted that she has had to overcome a few challenges to establish her brand and get people to sit up and notice the impact of her work. “When I started out as a digital artist, I did not have money to buy materials to draw. Also, in Botswana some of our people don’t appreciate the kind of art I do because it’s totally new. When some people see digital art, they think the computer did it, while in fact, the computer only gives you an endless supply of materials to use and you as the artist have to draw every single line,” she said. She took initiative and made artworks to take to companies and other clients, to show them how they could use them, and she says that things are improving. “I am happy that several companies are opening up to artists such as myself, and I hope they continue to empower young artists,” she said. She said she is inspired by international artists, as they are not afraid to try anything to make their art look amazing. “That is something all artists need to do in order to be a professional.” Wale has her eyes on conquering the global world. “Before I started drawing, I told myself that I am going to leave a mark in Botswana, and I believe I do that every time I paint a mural or work for a huge company such as St Louis. In a few years’ time, I am going to work with even bigger international companies and brands such as Converse and Golf. I also hope to one day build an art school.”