Rose-Mary Haufiku
Art, in its many forms, will always be a part of someone’s life, whether it is the artist or the art appreciator, because art conveys emotions. However, art is not limited to painting or music, as many people believe.
Barakias Nghiyavala turns photo portraits into cartoon caricatures, and believes his work is artistic.
He started this while still a student at the University of Namibia (Unam) in 2017, and that was also when his Instagram page eazi.arts was established.
Nghiyavala began turning photos into cartoon drawings as a means of supporting his financially-disadvantaged mother.
“I didn’t have anyone to support me, apart from my unemployed mother. I then started watching some YouTube videos of how to animate pictures, and so I started practising on my own computer until I got it right,” he told Youth Corner. The 28-year-old Unam education graduate revealed that he intended to study a course related to art, as he always wanted to be an animator or graphic designer. But his parents weren’t happy with his decision, and suggested he studies education, because he “won’t have trouble finding a job”.
Nghiyavala, who is still unemployed since graduating last year, said he is always at home designing, drawing and learning new things since he has nothing else to do.
He has an honours degree in secondary education, majoring in biology and physical education. “Apart from animating people’s pictures, I am also a graphic designer. I design posters, flyers, single and album covers, business cards, logos and many more.”
Nghiyavala’s ambition is to one day run a company where he can hire people and educate them about how photos are turned into drawings, and/or work for one of the major art companies.