JENNIE Tagini, 23, who hails from Malaita Province, is one of the country’s aspiring young female painters whose passion for art has made a name for herself in the local art industry.
Tagini canvas paintings which display her great artistic skills, are showcased at the Solomon Island National Art Gallery in Honiara and via her facebook page ‘Jennie Tagini art.’
She discovered her artistic talent when she was still in primary school and expanded her creativity into drawing, using paper and pencil. That’s according to Tagini in an interview with this paper.
“I discovered my artistic talent at a very young age when I was still in primary school. I basically used pencil and graphite colour on paper.
“In Grade 5, I was awarded a certificate in art in the intermediate category of the World Children’s Day Art Competition organised by the Honiara City Council,” she said.
The joy of receiving the award inspired Tagini to explore graphite colour drawing and focussed on that until 2017 when she decided to venture into canvas painting.
With her passion and talent in art and drawing, Tagini continued to work hard on improving her skills and that effort paid off with her current recognition as one of the country’s talented female artists.
Despite her achievements as an artist, Tagin said she encountered many challenges to reach the stage where she is today.
“With my hobby of drawing since my primary school years, I always ensure there was a balance between my hobby and my school work and my household duties.
“Being from a patrilineal society where females play a major role in household work, I made sure that I keep a balance between my hobby with my school work and household duties.”
Tagini said since she started painting, she was not able to publicly expose her talents until she went into canvas painting.
“It was through my canvas paintings that I was able to expose my artistic skills,” she said.
When asked what is the common challenge facing Solomon Islands painters or artists, if there is any, Tagini said it is the lack of resources to live up to their full potential.
But despite this, she said she will continue using all the resources she has at her disposal, adding that art is an awesome way of expressing her ideas and feelings about issues.
Tagini said an encouragement she would want to give other local artists is, “whatever you believe and are able to do, pursue it despite whatever criticisms you may receive.”
By FLOYD TERRY
Solomon Star, Honiara
