“Art has helped me to speak with people whose languages I cannot pronounce, yet like love, art is a language of its own. I breathe art, I breathe love. I feel art, I feel love. I am art, I am love. We are art, and we are love,” a young man once said.
In a world where art makes the silent noise and inconspicuous change, Khutjo Nelson Moremi stood firm in making the noise loud and the change prominent. Raised and nurtured by the dim lights of Seshego, known by his street name of Manelo, this young hyphenate lad possesses a basket of talents such as acting, directing, writing, presenting/host, and he is an artist.
Featured in numerous films such as Thorns of Love, The Sacrifice 1&2, Virgin Blood, My Poor Boyfriend. He is the writer and the star actor in the film; One Mistake. Furthermore, he was featured in a short film titled Mashonisa by Alpha Pack Entertainment and two skits episodes of Talk to a Brother by Versatile Visuals. He acted in Shattered Innocence at the Mapungubwe Art Festival Theatre Night. Acted in a production by Palesa, a play portraying a very complicated love story. Directed a stage play called Mponeng.
His inspiration is birthed from the immediate surrounding in his society. “I find it quite interesting how there are so many dynamics that contribute to social behaviour and it all stems from love,” he says. He believes that all that happens is the result of love, it may be love for a particular individual or simply just for life. He stated that all the projects that he was featured in have taught him that love is always involved. All the characters that he portrayed made huge decisions and life-changing conclusions followed by love. That inspired him to continue writing and continue telling stories from various spectrums yet rooted in love.
When it comes to writing the script to the story, the creative process is energy-dependent and more spiritual than what meets the eyes or ears. You are in the process of writing the script, everything else pauses until completion. Although sometimes the mind would go blind in the midst of writing, he would immediately stop to avoid rushing to the end and missing the chemistry of the story itself. When writing each and every script, he visualises the story, characters, and the story as it builds up. He never visualises the ending as the story builds up as he writes.
“For me, the writing process feels like experiencing a particular existence unfolding step-by-step right in front of my eyes. The different emotional states through each scene and the experience, I would never trade it for anything,” he says. He also announces that the best part about writing a script is acting it out.
For him, the month of Valentine represents love at its purest form. It is a month away we should teach ourselves how to love. “I feel like as much as it is widely celebrated as the month of romantic love, it should also be a social reminder of how to love ourselves,” he says. Considering the GBV states that we have as a country that stems from romantic love and relationships, Nelson feels that it is high time we learn how to love ourselves, loving ourselves enough to walk away from a toxic relationship.
The communities should initiate conversations that speak up about Gender-based violence and loving oneself, by doing that he believes that we would have a purest celebration of the month of love and celebrate Valentine’s Day with true actual representation of love. Through art, people can also be taught how to love themselves. Everyone and everything has a coping mechanism, but Manelo found his in arts. The art space has always been a home of expression for him, an escape from his depression cage. Through art, he can speak to people who speak a different language from him, yet just like love, art is a language on its own.
