Artists |
Culture & Traditions |
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Background & Biography:
Njogu Touray is a well known Gambian
artist who was
 born
in 1960 and began his early artistic career by tinkering
with art using different natural media found in his environment such
as beach sand and cowry shells. In his early youth
Njogu began by creating Fanal lantern
lights
and various indigenous masks used in cultural festivities. He later produced household
decorations for families in his neighborhood and soon the word spread
about his talent and he became a household name.
Style and Works:
 Njogu creates his
own rich vibrant colours using natural resins and pigments extracted
from various indigenous tree bark and plants which he uses on his
paintings. This obsession with natural materials started in his
childhood and is indicative of his environmental concerns about local
detrimental damage
 including the felling of trees.
His technique of using alternative media is similar to another local
painter named Etu. He is
captivated by the magnificent ruins of the ancient Old City of
Timbuktu such as his work 'Trace of Old', which portrays the ancient
city of in often rich, stark natural tones of the African scenery.
Another of his
works includes 'Seeing Beyond' which shows the revered and often
sacred baobab tree. Some of his paintings as well as Etu's adorn the villas at the AU village in
Brufut Heights near Ghana
 Town. He has
opened his own art gallery called Sakura Art Studio - 'Tahalart' - which
means in Wolof 'to be stained' with or 'do
art'. It is located in the Latrikunda area of Serrekunda just off
Kairaba Avenue.
Exhibits and Tours:
 He has
travelled internationally and since the late 1980s his works have been
exhibited in art galleries in the US, Europe and nearer to home in
Senegal. For example in 1989 he held an exhibition of his works at the
Africa Centre in the UK and in 2002 he held an exhibition in Oregon
titled 'Colors of Africa'.
Local Participation:
 As well as
being an environmental campaigner he is eager to encourage children to
enter into the arts and encourages them to try out different
techniques and mixed media.
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