Mogo (cigarette)
Richard Mudariki (b 1985)
Mogo (cigarette) - 2015
Acrylic on canvas
50 x 50 cm
Signed and dated bottom right
‘Mogo’ is a Shona slang word for cigarette, and refers to the smoke
that is puffed out when smoking. My father has been a smoker for
a long time, with his favourite cigarette brand being Everest. I have
therefore observed the habits of smokers; how a chain smoker
can easily fill an ashtray in three hours, the desperation when
they run out of cigarettes, the fellowship in sharing cigarettes
with strangers, or to stop to share a lighter, even the specific way
some hold the cigarettes between their fingers. Despite the health
warnings, l always notice hordes of smokers outside the large
office building in central Cape Town enjoying a cigarette break.