The visitor - SOLD
Richard Mudariki (b 1985)
The visitor - 2013
Charcoal and pastel on paper
70,5 x 50 cm
Signed, titled and dated in the margin
Sold - 2016
When l was a child l enjoyed listening to the elders telling folk tales, which are passed down from generation to generation. In those days in the village, the stories were usually told at night round the fire, soon after supper and before bedtime. The storyteller would describe various animal characters who behaved like humans – they talked, were married and lived in houses – but their animal characteristics were also emphasised – the rabbit was smart, the lion frightening, the baboon was silly, or a thief, and the crocodile was sneaky. The stories usually had a moral theme, and those characters who were greedy or selfish were taught a lesson. This drawing is an interpretation of one of my favourite stories of the baboon and the crocodile; Crocodile would help Baboon across the river to the other side. Baboon’s pretence was that he was visiting, but he was in fact stealing from Lion, who was wealthy. Then one day, crocodile followed Baboon home and saw all his loot, so he ate him.