BY ARTS CORRESPONDENT.
Harare, Zimbabwe. (News of The South) – First Floor gallery in Harare on Thursday held an exhibition by a
visual artiste Gersham Tapiwa Nyaude which exudes different meanings particularly issues that affect the day-to-day lives of people living in developing countries.
Speaking at the official opening, the gallery’s director Marcus Gora said Nyaude ’s paintings are inspired by the Shona proverb “Zino irema, rinosekerera warisingadi” that loosely translates to “A tooth is a fool, it smiles even at one it does not like”.
He went on to say that this speaks to a reality where self-interest is fast overtaking trust and sincerity in many spheres of our lives.
“On the other hand, in street language, Mazino (teeth) is a term people use to describe hardships that can be biting or as tough as teeth again becoming a potent visual metaphor for Nyaude. It is in the dynamic equilibrium between Zino Irema and Mazino, that Zimbabwe’s realities and Nyaude’s paintings take shape,”said Gora.
Nyaude reiterated that his paintings were inspired by the everyday things people encounter and the experiences that people share.
“From what I always come across in my area and what I hear from people talking I felt I needed to experiment with paintings to bring about a plethora of messages through art,”said the Mbare-born visual artiste.
Gersham attained National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe visual art school certificate in 2007. He has been featured in international exhibitions that include Berliner Liste 2013, 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair 2013, Young and awakening Gorgan Museum Iran, African color and Soho Maputo gallery Mozambique.
First Floor Gallery founded in 2009 is a hub for emerging and young contemporary visual artistes that include the afore-mentioned artiste, Wycliffe Mundopa, Helen Teede ,Richard Butler Bowdon, Mavis Tauzeni,Lauren Webber ,Giles Ryder,Troy Makaza, Julio Rizhi, Miriro Mwandiyambira ,Takunda Billiat and Thomas Muziyirwa.
About Author
