Innovation drives mixed media artiste Chauruka

HARARE-BASED mixed media artist Tawanda Paul John Chauruka says he is trying to map out a new way for artistes to collaborate in order to create opportunities for them.

Chauruka will host an exhibition in Johannesburg later this year.

“I am hosting an exhibition in Johannesburg in October doing photo shoots for club scenes and boutiques,” he said.

“I will be doing walking runway, conceptual photo shoots for modeling, creative direction and voice acting in Zimbabwe.”

He said the exhibition was meant to change the African perspective through art. The youthful visual artiste said he was currently in Zimbabwe doing runway, voice acting and shoots.

“I am returning to Johannesburg in February where I do events for clubs and sell canvases and digital prints,” he said.

“The pictures I take are all self-portraits and I print them on canvas and get collaborative painters to paint on them as well making them mixed media.”

Chauruka started doing art as a career in 2020 while he was staying at a farm in Ruwa.

“I started by taking pictures of myself just to post on social media and this quickly evolved from just taking pictures to conceptual photography,” he said.

“Conceptual photography is themed a photography that tells a story. I then got my first feature in an exhibition titled The Harvest in mid 2020, which saw some of my prints being bought by African University.”

Chauruka said this marked the beginning of his career as a graphic designer.

“I then went to South Africa for a course at Vega College where I studied graphic design in 2021. I then started shooting in South Africa for private events and clubs like Rumours Lounge in Johannesburg,” he said.

“I then got to become the photographer for the Hobo Collection boutique in Pankhus, Johannesburg.”

Chauruka has done a series of photo shoots in South Africa and collaborated with models photographers and painters such as Thidziambi Mafamadi who are now part of his production team his first solo exhibition titled Genesis.

He said the Genesis exhibition would be the first of its kind in Zimbabwe as it will incorporate mixed media and NFT technology, having digital prints of artworks sold.