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Womans Behind Elephants Head

Print
1993 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Thamae Setshogo is one of Botswana's most established artists. He works in various media - paint, woodcarving and printmaking - but the linocut is especially well-suited to his bold graphic style and balanced compositions. His work often refers to the small details of the natural environment; birds, animals and insects, which in his images become simplified almost to the point of abstraction. The title of this print puns on its witty depiction of both a woman's bottom and an elephant's head.

Setshogo gained an international profile through his involvement in the Kuru Art Project, a scheme run by the charity Kuru D'Kar Trust to enable San artists in the Kalahari region of Botswana to benefit financially from their artistic skills. Printmaking was not a traditional craft for the San but the Trust enabled them to transfer images used in ceramic or leather work to lino-cut and lithography. International sales of works on paper helped the San, who were rapidly becoming marginalised in the country's economy in the early 1990s, to maintain a subsistence level of farming.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleWomans Behind Elephants Head (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Linocut on paper
Brief description
Print by Thamae Setshogo, 'Womans Behind Elephants Head', linocut, Botswana, 1993
Physical description
Unmounted linocut on paper printed in black. The image depicts lizards and birds and other abstract forms that are possibly animal or human.
Dimensions
  • Inside mount window height: 24.5cm
  • Inside mount window width: 33.5cm
  • Height: 22.7cm (Note: size of block)
  • Width: 32.2cm (Note: size of block)
  • Height: 46.9cm (Note: size of sheet)
  • Width: 42cm (Note: size of sheet)
Size of block and size of sheet dimensions taken from Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings Accession Register for 1993
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'THAMAE' (Signed in pencil)
  • 'Womans behind Elephants Head' (Inscribed in pencil)
  • '22/66' (Numbered)
Object history
This linocut produced in D'kar, a farming community in Ghanzi region of Botswana where printing on paper is not a traditional craft. Facilities for doing so were provided by the Kuru Cultural Project to help produce artefacts which can be marketed to give financial aid to a community living on or below the poverty line.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Thamae Setshogo is one of Botswana's most established artists. He works in various media - paint, woodcarving and printmaking - but the linocut is especially well-suited to his bold graphic style and balanced compositions. His work often refers to the small details of the natural environment; birds, animals and insects, which in his images become simplified almost to the point of abstraction. The title of this print puns on its witty depiction of both a woman's bottom and an elephant's head.

Setshogo gained an international profile through his involvement in the Kuru Art Project, a scheme run by the charity Kuru D'Kar Trust to enable San artists in the Kalahari region of Botswana to benefit financially from their artistic skills. Printmaking was not a traditional craft for the San but the Trust enabled them to transfer images used in ceramic or leather work to lino-cut and lithography. International sales of works on paper helped the San, who were rapidly becoming marginalised in the country's economy in the early 1990s, to maintain a subsistence level of farming.
Bibliographic reference
Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings Accession Register for 1993
Collection
Accession number
E.728-1993

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Record createdApril 25, 2007
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