The National Gallery of Zimbabwe is currently hosting the exhibition titled “Gathering”, by visual and performance artist Nothando Chiwanga until 2 September, 2023. Nothando’s artwork is deeply influenced by her personal experiences, reinventing everyday life.
Her approach to portraiture, image making, and display, as well as her vivid and elaborate use of light, pose, and environment, present acts that are expressionist and performative in nature.
Voiceofnaija.ng’s Oluwapelumi Shemuel caught up with the Zimbabwe-based visual and performance artist working from Harare about her artworks, her background, and exhibitions.
Congratulations on the video award from the Zimbabwe Visual Arts Awards 2023! It’s great you finally got recognized publicly; how was that special moment for you?
It was unbelievably awesome; I still feel emotional when I think about it now, as it’s one of the best things that has ever happened to me. It’s wonderful to receive not just recognition but also an artist video award in Zimbabwe.
As one of the young contemporaries who exhibited their artwork at the National Museum of Lagos in 2022, what was the experience like visiting Lagos for the first time? Do you see yourself coming back to Nigeria soon?
Lagos is a vibrant city with people who love their culture, food, music, and art. When I first arrived, I felt most of my senses overwhelmed by the chaos, noise, and traffic. The lifestyle in Lagos is fast-paced, and as part of the fast life, people in Lagos hustle. I hope I will be back soon because I haven’t finished my duty and work there.
What gets you most excited about Visual art?
For me, it is an expression that is functional, persuasive, and ceremonial, as well as narrative. Visual art is a fundamental component of the human experience, reflecting the world and the time in which we live. Art can help us understand our history, our culture, our lives, and the experiences of others in a manner that cannot be achieved through other means.
Is there anything particular that you were hoping a viewer would have felt in your 2022 project titled “Woman Wearing a Graduation Gown”? If yes, how?
Yes, I wanted to point out the issues people are facing while wearing a graduation gown. Introducing a gown and a hood was for the purpose of keeping students warm. Historians also believe that gowns and hoods were introduced in order to distinguish students’ religious and scholarly status from the laypeople of the town in which they studied.
The culmination of a journey and the attainment of a goal, now using a graduation gown in Mill House, a place of smell, dirt, sound, and heat, for someone who is educated, it can be so tricky, showing the changes in employment: now there are no jobs. So, you have to do what’s on the ground to survive.
Medium: digital photography on matte
Size: 24x33inches
Year: 2022
Location: Chitugwiza harare Zimbabwe
Can you tell us about your process? Your approach is very specific, with mostly large-scale portraits with vividly elaborated use of light, image making, pose, and display that present acts that are expressionist and performative in nature. Did you ever work in this medium of performance art in the beginning?
At first, I used to photograph, but then I discovered that you cannot run away from movement and action. That’s when I started practising performance art.
What was the first art that you encountered? How did it make you feel? What is art in your own terms?
The series is called “Zvokudya” and “The Covid Era.” These two series totally changed my perspective on viewing art. Zvokudya translates to food, knowing that for you to be what you are today, you need food—not just food but proper food.
Also, the COVID era was terrifying and tragic for me as an artist, whether I was inside creating or not. That’s why I decided to call it an Era because it felt like a decade, though it was not. Just seeing the same person every day, not allowed to go out, curfew, barricade tape—it was like we were totally at war with Mother Nature. Everything changed in culture and lifestyle.
Tell us a brief history about yourself and your background. When did you realize it was visual art and nothing else?
I was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, on May 6, 1997. I explore and experiment with predominantly art mediums such as Performance art, photography, and collage. I went to Queen Elizabeth Girls School, and I furthered my studies and graduated from the National Gallery School of Visual Arts and Design in 2019.
I have exhibited my artworks at the New Signatures and Green Shoots Exhibition, the Notes for Tomorrow travelling exhibition, Young Contemporary 2022 at the National Museum Lagos, and the Madzimbawe Group Show at Akka Project Dubai in 2022.
I did my artist residency at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in 2020 and Young Contemporary at the Rele Arts Foundation, Nigeria, in 2022. I have participated in various workshops like “Realism” with John Kotze, “performance art” with Sithembile Msezane, and “Art and Ethics” with Julius Mushambadope.
My journey into the world of visual art started during my primary school days, when I participated in various art competitions and workshops.
Medium: photography on matte
Size : 24 x33inches
Year: 2020
Location harare Zimbabwe
What artists inspire you, Historical or Contemporary? Why?
I do have a lot of artists that inspire me, but I’ll just mention a few of them. Yinka Shonnibare, Virginia Chihota, Omar Victor, and Moffat Takadiwa. All These Contemporary artists I’ve mentioned inspire me through logic, rationality, and curiosity.
You know, historical artists, or, let me say, history itself, inspire people to rise up and make the world a better place. Historical events also help people, not just inspire themselves. For instance, through writing books, creating visual artworks and educating the world about the great people and events of the past, and present things that bring people together in the modern era.
I believe, as a visual artist, that history allows us to observe and understand how people and societies behave. For example, we are able to evaluate war, even when a nation is at peace, by looking back at previous events. Historical events provide us with the data that is used to create laws or theories about various aspects of society.
History can help provide us with a sense of identity. This is actually one of the main reasons that history is still taught in schools around the world. Historians have been able to learn about how countries, families, and groups were formed and how they evolved and developed over time.
When an individual takes it upon themselves to dive deep into their own family’s history, they can understand how their family interacted with larger historical changes.
What books, music, and other art mediums inspire your creative flow?
Well, I will just mention my favorites up to date: “Steal like an artist” by Austin Kleon; “Show your work” by Austin Kleon; “Myth and Magic: The Art of Shona, Zimbabwe” by Joy Kuhn; “Zimbabwean Artist” by George Nene; and “Daughters of God” by Ellen G. White.
I am particularly interested in Afro-pop, Gospel, Chimurenga songs, and jazz.
That would be sculpture, painting, drawing, and printmaking…
What were the struggles you faced as an artist? Did you attend any art schools? If Yes, When? What was the experience like?
Yes! I studied visual arts and design. I encountered a lot of challenges, from trying to find my strengths to my weaknesses as an emerging or upcoming artist.
Medium: self portrait photography on canvas print
Year: 2022
Size :24 x 33inches
What does your studio look like? Can you tell us about the virtual exhibition “UNEARTHED,” share your artistic vision, and discuss the success of the project, mostly with galleries that have exhibited or are currently exhibiting your work?
I work in a caravan, which has a small kitchenette and sleeping quarters for anywhere between two and four people. Which has working appliances.
And about the “Unearthed” exhibition, it was an eye-opener, mostly on the issues of food and ecology. It is more exciting to meet new curators and gallerists every day and to see your work in new spaces. It makes me feel different in terms of working and gives me hope.
Is there arts hanging in your home? If yes, what are they?
Yes please! It’s called “Muroora Weguta”, translated in English as “bride of the city,” because I believe that it is a daily story people say or talk about when one is at an early stage of marriage. When people see this work on the wall, they mostly have different thoughts about abolishing, yes, I want, or not, the challenges that one will face in marriage…
Tell us about any upcoming projects you’re currently working on. Are there any other new elements in your visual arts practice you would like to share, or anything new you’re exploring in the project?
At the moment, I am working with recycled materials like synthetic hair, cloth, and mannequins.
Lastly, what advice do you have for upcoming and emerging artists?
My candid advice to them is to keep on working; don’t stop because the Term of Success has Risks, Failures, Doubts, Criticism, Discipline, Sacrifices, Rejections, Late nights, persistence, and Hard work. So persevere till the end.
SHORT PROFILE
Name: Nothando Chiwanga
DOB: May 6, 1997
Place of birth: Harare, Zimbabwe
Occupation: Visual & Performance Artist