Portia Zvavahera Art
This evening I am posting images of art by Portia Zvavahera taken at an exhibition (01.03.25-25.05.25) at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Working between two studios in her hometown of Harare, Zimbabwe, Portia (b.1985) creates large paintings that evoke her inner life. The exhibition arises from several years of conversations between Zvavahera and curator,Tamar Garb that began in the studio. An authority on the work of women artists, feminist aesthetics and art from Africa, Garb has brought together a selection of paintings that trace the devolopment of the artist's practice from 2012 to the present.
Much of Zvavahera's subject matter derives from her dreams in a practice that has its roots in the artist's ancestral beliefs and in her Christian faith.
Animals appear in her dreams, and so too in her paintings.The animals are metaphors for periods of unease or uncertainty in Zvavahera's waking life. the paintings become a means to face these beats, to create for herself a protection from the harm they might do her.
The paintings illustrated were worked upon simultaneously, allowing a conversation to build up between canvases, of shared colours, textiles and motifs. In some of these works, Zvavahera uses palm fronds-dipped in wax or ink-to create surfaces that evoke feathery wings or perhaps grasslands.
I Want to Stay in Love
Ndokumbirawo Ishe
Ndahwarara
His Presence
Labour Ward
Labour Pains
Embraced and Protected in You
Fallen People.
This is Where I Travelled (4)
Vachengeti vangu
This is Where I Travelled (2)
The Energy Present
Fighting Energies 2
Ndirikukutsvagal ndirimugomo
Lifted Away
Ndirikumabvisa
Fighting Energies
Hide There
Ranganal Henyu (Devise Your Strategy)
This post connects nicely with Scottish art, architecture and culture.
More Information
For more information on Edinburgh and many other aspects of Scotland please refer to the Visitors’ Guide to Scotland, ISBN 978-1-9161332-0-4. This book is also available via Kindle.
Comments
Post a Comment