Two-man exhibition opens in September
THE zimbabwe Annual exhibition took place last year in December, revamping a brand that is unarguably the country’s oldest art exhibition, if not the oldest art event across disciplines.
The exhibition was a convergence of artists from all over zimbabwe showcasing works from different genres such as painting, illustration and sculpture. Therein, two top artists at the event walked away not only with monetary prizes, but with an upcoming exhibition made possible by the sponsors, the embassy of Angola.
The winner of the first prize, Tawanda Takura, came up tops with his artwork entitled
composed of steel, wood, rubber, leather and wire. One respected art gallery owner jokingly monikered Takura, “The Shoemaker” and after getting to know the artist fur- ther, his skills in shoe mending came to the fore. Using surplus materials from his trade became a sensible option for Takura, as he kept his media more geared for sustainability and up cycling.
When asked about his interaction with the Angolan embassy, the Chitungwiza- born artist said; “it was a humbling experience to have high- powered diplomats visiting my humble studio”. “it inspired me to work harder with the knowledge that my passion is being fully appreciated”.
“i do assemblages using old shoes because i am a self- taught shoemaker and the idea of disposing of shoes after their prime really got to me, i had to find a way to preserve these cast off objects by creating sculptures out of them.”
“Throwing shoes away has a negative impact on the environ- ment,” Takura said.
“Several parts such as the rubber soles do not decompose and the fertility of the soil is affected by this,” Takura added.
“At the worst, you will find people burning these discarded shoes and it pollutes the air. i aim to play my part in a cleaner environment through my artwork”.
Takura said he was responsible for all individuals who used the shoes that he salvaged.
“each shoe carries a hint of character, a weight and energy of the previous owner and a certain feeling that any viewer of the final artwork can pay attention to”.
Takura does illustrations and collages and the shift to sculpture pieces was a shift in creating work that would converse with the viewer on a grander, much deeper scale.
His thoughts will manifest in September at the national Gallery of zimbabwe when zimbabwe and Angola exchange cultures with the two outstanding artists — Tawanda Takura and Julius Mushambadope — staging a show in commemoration of Angola’s founding father, Agostinho neto.
The exposition of the works of two passionate visual artists undoubtedly compliments the life and times of a leader who was not only a statesman, but a prominent literary artist and patron of arts.
in Angola, national Heroes Day and Agostinho neto’s Day are observed on the September 17.