Fashion often appropriates the crafts, culture and traditions of other countries: Africa is for example proving a strong influence once again in the Spring/Summer 2016 collections for both men and women's wear (examples: Junya Watanabe and Valentino). You may argue, though, that Africa is hitting back via art: fashion may be appropriating fabrics, patterns or decorative motifs and accessories, but there are a few African artists out there who seem to be commenting on the damages inflicted by consumerist societies on our planet.
Think for example about Moffat Takadiwa's works: his assemblages of computer keys and strings, discarded electrical goods, spray and beverage plastic bottle tops, and other assorted ordinary debris could be considered as ways to comment about disinformation, chaos, consumerism and drinking habits.
Takadiwa tackles indeed issues such as material culture, identity and the environment, but, through his collages and assemblages of beehive-looking metal spray and bottle tops, he also reminds us of the cultural dominance exercised by the consumption of foreign products in Zimbabwe and Africa.
Born in Karoi, Zimbabwe, in 1983, and currently based in Harare, Takadiwa graduated with a BA Honors from Harare Polytechnic College, Zimbabwe, in 2008. He is one of the founding member of the First Floor Gallery Harare, an artist run space and the first independent, international contemporary gallery in Zimbabwe (opened in 2009). The gallery supports and shows contemporary and emerging Zimbabwean artists and curators, without prompting them to conform to market expectations.
Praised for the accessibility of his pieces, Takadiwa has been a recipient of many awards since 2008 and has taken part in solo presentations and group exhibitions.
The London-based Tyburn Gallery is currently getting ready to host Moffat Takadiwa's first UK solo exhibition (from 5 November 2015 to 9 January 2016) and you can bet this event will turn into a very inspiring chance for many artists and fashion designers as well.
Takadiwa's colourful wall-hung sculptures are visually striking and have an intrinsic tactile quality about them: his modus operandi may be similar to El Anatsui's, even though the latter produces larger and monumental pieces that could almost be considered as textiles, while Takadiwa's smaller wall sculptures at times look like totemic masks, powerful assemblages of debris of a society devoted to consuming and discarding.
Both the artists elevate ordinary and found objects to art, while also reminding us of the damages inflicted on our lives and planet by our consumption habits. The most interesting thing in Takadiwa's case is that the objects found on the streets of Harare's ghettos are turned into elements to tell stories of challenges and triumphs: dish soap bottle caps hint for example at the fact that the people using this product have overcome economic crisis.
The Takadiwa exhibition at the Tyburn Gallery will therefore prove intriguing for different reasons: while inspiring on a visual and tactile level, the event will also be culturally interesting for all those people who want to discover more about the dynamic art scene in Africa or silently admire Takadiwa's pieces and hear the stories told by this spiritual garbage man.
Moffat Takadiwa, Tyburn Gallery, 26 Barrett Street, London, W1U 1BG, UK, 5 November 2015 – 9 January 2016.
Image credits for this post
Moffat Takadiwa,
Smell of foreign policy, 2015
Found bottle caps and spay tops 170 x 145 x 30cm
Copyright the artist, Courtesy Tyburn Gallery
Moffat Takadiwa,
Head spin 2, 2015
Found spray tops, diameter 50 cm
Copyright the artist, Courtesy Tyburn Gallery
Moffat Takadiwa,
Joy pad, 2014
Found spray tops, 160x 145 x 30 cm
Copyright the artist, Courtesy Tyburn Gallery
Moffat Takadiwa,
The Shonglish Translator, 2015
Computer keys and strings 230 x 100cm x 5 cm
Copyright the artist, Courtesy Tyburn Gallery
Moffat Takadiwa,
Dissemination: Super Highway to Africa, 2014
Computer keys, 140 x 107 x 30cm
Copyright the artist, Courtesy Tyburn Gallery
Moffat Takadiwa with his work,
Copyright the artist, Courtesy Tyburn Gallery
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