Exhibition set to highlight kinship with nature

Victoria Falls-based artist alison Baker will be holding a solo exhibition at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) in Harare from November 17 till February next year.

The exhibition, running under the theme of the co-existence between humanity and nature, is titled A Book That Cannot Be Read.

For the past year, NGZ has been working closely with the painter towards the mounting of the exhibition which will be opened to the public on November 18.

Born and raised in Bulawayo, alison’s artworks caption the power of the wilderness by using that which humanity discards, to create an immersive visual experience.

The exhibition incorporates alison’s antipoaching insights and learnings which is a fascination that she has had for a long time. Her view is that conservation is no more than an attempt to redress the damage that humanity has done.

NGZ says the artworks in the exhibition are all about the capability that humanity is implicit in the crime against wildlife, as witnessed by the number of animal deaths by snares, cars and the consumption of rubbish.

“our exhibition programming is geared towards commitment to projects such as Book That Cannot Be Read, because we want

Ato bring a facet of social awareness and how other areas of life can be interpreted through art,” a gallery spokesperson told

IndependentXtra.

alison is also an avid horse rider and owner. She runs Zambezi Horse trails, a game reserve in the Victoria Falls National Park that specialises in horse riding and game viewing.

She personally supervises the whole operation — from selecting and schooling horses for private owners to training guides and monitoring all rides.

Her knowledge of this ecosystem is extensive as she has always produced and schooled her own horses which have competed successfully in show jumping, cross country and eventing.

This is not the first time alison’s work has been featured at the gallery. in 2019, two of her pieces were selected for the exhibition

Balance4Better: Redesigning a Woman’s Space. another titled Wuis Custodiet featured in the exhibition Rembrandt @350, where 35 Zimbabwean artists had an opportunity, through their artworks, to remaster the Dutch golden age painter rembrandt van rijn.

in the same year, her piece titled Learning to Breathe was part of the exhibition that was showcased upon the United Nations’ commemoration of the international Day of Persons with Disabilities.