Funwayo showcases early works
AN exhibition by Bulawayo Polytechnic lecturer, Japhet Funwayo opened at The National Gallery in Bulawayo on Wednesday showcasing an infusion of his early and latter paintings.
The showing titled “Footsteps: A Visual Anthology” features works from as early as 1989 and some that were done when Funwayo was a pupil at Magwegwe Secondary.
Opening the exhibition, Gallery director, Voti Thebe recalled Funwayo’s early sojourns into painting and how he fell in love with clay, a medium that dominates among the paintings on show.
He said clay provided a cheaper option and for a binder they could opt for wood glue which was adequate to fix onto the surface being used.
“Funwayo fell in love with clay and one day he brought clay made up of different colours after coming across it along Masiyephambili Road, close to Bellevue, and it excited him highly as he substituted it for paint,” he said.
Funwayo revealed he never let expense get in his way as he improvised as an artist but managed to come up with good works.
“Nature is there beckoning to each and every artist with material that we can use at low cost. We do not have to be deterred as artists when you think of expensive paint.
“We are creatives and believe one can look around his environment and come up with material to use in coming up with art work,” he said.
According to the curatorial statement, written by Clifford Zulu Footsteps features a collection addressing a critical stage in the creative trajectory of the artist.
“The exhibition also reflects on time and a journey by way of clay, the collection becomes a catalyst for exploring the impact of contemporary pressures confronting our young artists today.
“It offers visitors a rare opportunity to experience a diverse range of clay as a medium of painting and expression. In recent years, creativity in Bulawayo has experienced a renaissance among artists. The Visual Anthology as a theme in the exhibition explores social life issues including rebellion, marriage, anxiety, and transition.
“By adopting the medium of clay on two dimensional works, Japhet creates powerful, engaging, and provocative work each inspired by his own experience as a participant or observer of contemporary society and culture,” the statement reads.
Exhibition highlights include “Cyrene Silhouette”, “Moonlight Landscape” and “Good and Evil” done during the Pachipamwe International Artists workshop in 1993 and currently part of the permanent collection by the Gallery.
A lecturer by day and a painter by night Funwayo is an artist with a social conscience who places the moment in a painting, endeavours to capture and juxtapose through physical manipulation of material and technique.
Zulu adds: “When the curatorial team was going through the collection spanning as far back to 1989, we saw an artist with a focused purpose, a message of historical or current concern and voice to a cause.”
The National Art Gallery celebrates 60 years this year, with various activities lined up across the country.