Sprinter’s hyperrealism displayed at the Main Mall for public appreciation
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
Letsile Tebogo’s world record breaking performance at the World Athletics Under 20 Championships last week has inspired hyperrealism artist Martin Sefako to produce an A0 size art piece of the sprinter in pencil on paper.
Tebogo clocked 9.91 sec in the 100m race after beginning to celebrate, like Usain Bolt, 20 metres to the finish line.
With the same amount of detail as a high-resolution photograph, the hyper realistic drawing is displayed for public appreciation at the “Tebogo Letsile Pop Up Gallery” at the Main Mall in Gaborone.
“Our young champion has lifted the Botswana flag so high, winning gold and silver medals,” Sefako told Time Out. “It was important for me to capture this moment with my art so that it lives forever in the eyes and minds of Batswana.”
Significance of art piece
The fine artist shared that the drawing took a total of 16 hours nonstop to complete, using charcoal pencils on paper. It garnered rave reviews online and could be snapped up any time because it is for sale.
Said Sefako: “The artwork signifies the power we have in all of us to reach greater heights. I was inspired by Letsile and I am sure he inspires a lot of other people to use their God given abilities.”
Artistic direction
Sefako’s work focuses on portraits in pursuit of achieving hyper-realistic pencil drawings in which the face looms large as his favourite subject. He says this is because every person has their own story and capturing the person and their emotions in a drawing is a wonderful experience for him.
Apart from faces, other human forms and figures add to his repertoire. “Making these types of drawing requires time and skill and the challenge of creating them on paper is an enjoyable process that I often get lost in,” he said.