Passion awarded with prize

DURBAN’S Robin Moodley has turned back to his passion for creating art after a hiatus of almost 30 years.

This month, Robin was awarded the Lea Zulu Natal Society to Arts Award and the KwaZulu-Natal Society to Arts Commendation Award for his piece, Land and Identity, which is on display as part of the Members Exhibition: Umhlaba | Land at the KZNSA until 7 April.

“I was interested in art from a young age, but it wasn’t available as a subject at school. It was a hobby, and I used to enjoy drawing. I registered to study Civil Engineering and Art 1 at university, but realised I wanted to change my degree to BA Fine Arts, as it was my passion to create art,” he said.

Robin started studying fine arts at the then University of Durban-Westville in 1979, and after three years was asked to leave the university because of his political involvement underground.

He applied for special permission at the Natal Technikon in Durban to finish his final year of studies in 1985, majoring in painting as well as sculpture and print making.

“I was involved politically in the Inconscription Campaign so I was hassled by military intelligence. I had been offered a Fullbright Scholarship but because I was wild, involved in politics, I lost the scholarship. In retrospect it was a good thing,” he said.

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Robin said he got married and had children, and by default started an interior design practice which he ran for almost 20 years.

“The desire was always there to make art, however I didn’t show my work for 30 years. In 2018 I put up my work in an exhibition and achieved a second prize. My recent achievement at the Members Exhibition has reassured me that I need to pursue art. I have a studio in the Point area where I work privately. I am painting for a solo exhibition in April 2020 and am creating serious uncompromised art,” he said.

Robin’s passion is to capacitate the marginalised, disenfranchised artists and to create a model which is non-exploitative. “The current model creates despondency in artists and compromises the creative process. Artists are forced to churn out art, dictated to by galleries. I feel the pure artistic process is compromised, and artists are being short changed and forced to sell their art at a low price. There is no value in it. I want to celebrate artists and their creative gifts and give value to artists and the community,” he said.

Robin has a small holding in Cliffdale where he plans to put together infrastructure for an artists’ retreat residency.

“I am passionate about Durban and feel its potential has always been marginalised. I want to encourage artists in different areas to speak to each other, to build up Durban artists,” he said.

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