For my thesis work, I have created an animation video with poetry as the narration. Each voice heard in this film, depicts the people I considered home, my family and my friends. I chose a specific color palette for this film, I wanted to have one primary color, yellow. It is the color that makes me the happiest. I think back to a time when I used yellow in my old kindergarten drawings, I was always fond of its bright nature. The way it illuminates all of its surroundings. I think of home as a bright and illuminating center of our lives. I chose four other colors to complement the yellow–white, pink, orange, and purple. These complementary colors are bright as well. I wanted the color palette to reflect how I want to feel when I am at home, or rather any space I inhabit, soft and comforting. Although moving is not ideal, I try to bring colors everywhere. The colors also reflect the spacing in the poetry as well. Each line break is complemented by a text or a drawing. I used Procreate to make the animations, using the boiling effect. The shakiness of the animation mirrors the uneasiness I felt about moving, not knowing how long I would stay or go. That uncertainty also reflects the added anxiety I felt about this change. For the installation, I wanted the film to be projected onto the wall and fill out the entire screen. I then added soft bean bag chairs and small soft cushions on the floor for the viewers to rest on while watching the film. Outside of the installation room, are five photos in frames on shelves that represent the photos of the various spaces I lived in. Towards the entrance to the Black Box is hand embroidery onto a white curtain, with the various lines from my poems. I have a book on display right next to the curtain which contains my poems and illustrations. I want the reader to experience the film in a physical two-dimensional form in order to hold and flip each page.
The concept of home has been part of my art practice throughout the MFA program. I explore the meaning behind the idea of place. Where do we belong? How does space reflect who we are? I have been away from home. For the past two years, I made homes in such places including hotels, friends’ apartments, rental houses, and many more spaces. I made each space my own or rather had no choice. Being uprooted takes a toll on us when we are displaced or our identity is blurred. Places for me hold special memories, more so than sounds or tastes. to all the places i call home is an ode to all those places, five to be exact. The title is not capitalized as making it capitalized makes it permanent. I have yet to find my place of home. My family and I are currently in the process of moving as I am writing this statement. Each physical place is gifted with a poem. Poetry has been an element of my work as well. The very essence of poetry is about spaces, and what emotion they invoke, much like the nature of Home.
When I think of my audience, I wish to incorporate a feeling of reflection. Each works to ponder their meaning and experiences of home, whether it be positive or negative. I do not want to guide my audience, rather I want to create a pathway for a space understanding. My art is not universal, rather is specific to those who reflect and ponder on their spaces of belonging.
Lokho Kotile’s website: https://lokhokotile.com/
Instagram: @lokholens
