De-constructing boundaries, exploring ideas of belonging
ARTS and culture have become an effective way of promoting a positive national image and the National Gallery of Zimbabwe is committed to representing the nation to that end on the international platform.
The 57th Edition of the Venice Biennale that was held in Italy last year was the fourth outing for Zimbabwe and as in previous years the Zimbabwe Pavilion exhibition will be brought back home for local audience.
This homecoming exhibition will be yet another exceptional moment in the National Gallery of Zimbabwe’s endeavour to promote Zimbabwean art and culture in local art scene.
The Biennale has been used by countries to showcase their artists, bringing with it a lot of success stories.
Zimbabwe’s participation at the 54th, 55th and 56th Venice Biennale in 2011, 2013 and 2015 respectively has been very much appreciated and has brought a lot of positive attention to the country when it was needed most.
The National Gallery has a mandate to commission and curate exhibitions locally and internationally, and the Venice Biennale is one vibrant platform which enables the Gallery to pursue that objective.
The 2017 participation was built on the success of the last three editions; the intention being to cement permanence and distinction at this event.
Over the last three editions, the Zimbabwe Pavilion had more than 150 000 visitors, with most of them having positive reaction on Zimbabwe, their experience at the Pavilion and the visual arts in Zimbabwe in general.
This has been reinforced by numerous media and online comments about the state of art and the quality of artists in the country.
As a result, Zimbabwean art has received a lot of attention from the art world with Zimbabwean artists being given opportunities to show case their works in other international galleries and exhibitions while receiving international recognition through a number of prestigious awards.
The Zimbabwe Pavilion continues to boost Zimbabwe’s confidence in maintaining a permanent presence on this international platform as it not only provides a rare opportunity to showcase our country’s immense artistic talent but also motivates people who want to further their experience and visit Zimbabwe thereby adding to our tourist numbers.
The exhibition will continue to put forth some questions relating to matters of boundaries and belonging through the voices of four artists. In the face of relentless cultural conflicts, migration, urbanisation and land reform, nationalism and globalisation, physical boundaries are getting blurred and challenged.
Over the years, the Venice Biennale has demystified the political and economic stereotypes surrounding Zimbabwe in the International community.
Zimbabwe is now perceived as having good, creative and genuine artists and art practice. It has marketed Zimbabwean artists around the globe as evidenced by a number of big international galleries’ and collectors’ interests in signing with and collecting works from Zimbabwean artists.
The voices and perspectives of artists on this regard are thus important, for they are the mirrors of society.
“Deconstructing Boundaries: Exploring Ideas of Belonging” exhibition asks pertinent questions about where African culture is today and what it will be like in future of importance. How much do artists have in shaping the culture and values that are accorded African Culture in Africa today and tomorrow.
Moreso, the exhibition elicits ideas from the participating artists as they reflect in their own experiences and question the boundaries that currently exist in one form or the other. As artists cross different borders and boundaries, they carry will them their own unique experiences and cultures about the different spaces they visit.
The Zimbabwe Pavilion is here to provide another perspective on the themes of identity, migration, nation states and belonging. The ideas of here and there, seeing and being seen have remained subjects for debate.
This exhibition will provide answers and will continue to question these issues.
The exhibition illuminates some of its diverse perspectives through artists, Admire Kamudzengerere, Charles Bhebhe, Dana Whabhira and Sylvester Mubayi. Their work will inspire the local audience to reflect and discuss issues that shape power relations.
Admire Kamudzengerere, the youngest of the group draws inspiration from art history and the community around him. Using drawing and printmaking as techniques, Kamudzengerere is able to express himself through these different mediums. His self-portraits, intense and undefinable, speak to personal struggle, self-definition and father and son relationships but also apply more broadly to the theme of contemporary masculinity.
Bulawayo based Charles Bhebhe’s touches on urban narratives. Bhebhe captures the human interactions of the urban landscape of the city he lives in. His work explores belonging and identity on an individual and clustered level with photorealistic depictions of the sights of the streets of Bulawayo.
Dana Whabhira is fascinated by people’s histories and also by how the colonial constructed what Zimbabwe was yesterday. In her pursuit Dana is deconstructing the past realities that faced the generation that came before the colonial era. Her works on show include “Circles of Uncertainty and Suspended in Animation”.
These artworks explore novel ways of rethinking borders embedded in language, identity, cartography and geography.