Botala Blue: Explore the Cultural Significance of Blue in Botswana

In Setswana, the term Botala Jwa Loapi can mean "the blue of the sky" depending on the context. In this work Kim uses the phrase as a starting point. 

Kim's work features a repeated pattern design that borrows from the face of  the Botswana currency's 100 Pula note . The note features portraits of three chiefs who are  monumentalised as fathers of the nation, for their role in the Republic of Botswana’s grand  narrative.

In addition to referencing Botswana history through the motif of the three chiefs, Kim also refers to letaisi - traditional Botswana dress. 

''By intricately weaving together the history of the Three Chiefs, with the cultural value of particular  geometric patterns and traditional dress, my work  unpacks the layers of our societal  make-up and fabric, based on my lived experience of daily life in Botswana"

"I believe that to be African means to be in constant conversation with our historical entanglement. To be African means to acknowledge and nurture the interconnectedness of one’s sense of self."