The Annual Southern African Community (SADC) Creators/ Artists workshop held recently at Motse Lodge in Kanye culminated in the ongoing exhibition at Thapong Visual Arts Centre in Gaborone.

Works of participants from SADC countries such as Botswana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, the Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe are displayed at this annual event.

One of the exciting works at the exhibition include Ivy Radipodi's canvas and condoms piece titled No Shower Afterwards. This piece is likely to stir controversy given the fact that some might think she is taking a swipe at the South African president Jacob Zuma who famously revealed in court that he took a shower soon after having unprotected sex with a female visitor. His statement enraged many people including those who advocate for the use of condoms as a measure to combat sexually transmitted diseases. At that time, many felt that Zuma, who is a hero to many, had taken the battle against AIDS and other STIs decades back since it seemed he was suggesting that it was proper to have unprotected sex and then take a shower afterwards to fight off infections.

Could Radipodi be warning visitors to the exhibition against unprotected sex given the fact that she used a number of condoms on the piece? No shower afterwards is indeed a thought-provoking piece.

Mamatakane Kolobe from the mountainous kingdom of Lesotho has also displayed an impressive piece namely Africa Without Border. To start with, as the title suggests, one of the main objectives of the workshop/exhibition was to bring down the barriers that hinder artists from the region from interacting and sharing their artistic skills.

This unique piece features mosaics made of tiles, colourful beads and paint on board. It is likely to draw attention given its beauty and the concept.

Krishna Luchoonum of Mauritius also explored his creative side when she came up with goat droppings on canvas. While it cannot be said that the piece is much of a beauty, the fact that the artist created some relief with goat droppings makes it an interesting work that will get viewers talking about it for days. The only thing that might be a turn-off is the smell that emanates from it. Luchoonum's other artwork Kutlwano is a linocut piece that showcases a zebra and a guinea fowl feeding side by side. The animal and the bird are the focal point of the work whose background is black, making it attractive to the eye. This begs the question: Did she learn this craft from Moses Maaramela who happens to be a leading linocut artist in the country?"

Undiscerning lovers of art are going to be unimpressed by Masilonyana Radinoga's untitled work, but the simple reason why it looks 'unprofessional' is because it is incomplete.

Radinoga is one of the most respected sculptors in the country and unless those who come to view the exhibition do not get to know that the artist never got to complete the work, they might be misled. However, the fans of the sculptor would be happy to know that he was able to successfully complete another piece titled Chobe. The sculpture must be inspired by the famous elephant of Chobe because it depicts an elephant. The artwork is simply exquisite and most certainly sets the artist apart from novices. The note near it says that it would be on sale once it has been glazed with bronze and it does not come cheaply as it costs several thousands of Pula.

As usual Uhuru Kgope is a cut above the with his mixed media work Baby shower. Kgope is an artist who comes up with enticing concepts and he truly deserves to be the current Thapong Artist of the Year.

With Baby Shower, he created a showerhead with dolls hanging from it held by clear plastic strings so one can say it's a work depicting babies literally raining a shower, hence the title Baby Shower. Good concept.

Mothisi Tau's oil on canvas Traditional Hut is also an attractive piece. The artists must have been inspired by his win in the junior category in Thapong Artist of the Year award to keep on working hard to improve his works. This artist specialises in realistic works that capture traditional Setswana scenes.

Another work to look out for is Doreen Perekisi's acrylic on canvas Networking.

Arts and Culture has been reliably informed that because of the rain that fell during the workshop, many artists were not able to complete their works and therefore they could not take part in the exhibition. This perhaps explains why Radinoga was not able to explain his piece. The number of the works displayed is also disappointing given the fact that this is an international exhibition and the blame is on the rain.

The workshop/exhibition were sponsored by among others Thapong, the SADC Secretariat and EU-Botswana.