A self-portrait shows Nothando Chiwanga covering her face with a yellow miner’s helmet while money spills over the edge of a traditional African reed basket she holds in her lap.
The artwork, a collage called “Immortal,” challenges age-old gender roles in a strongly patriarchal country like Zimbabwe by juxtaposing a helmet from an overtly male-dominated job with a delicately woven basket commonly used by women at markets.
To art curator Fadzai Muchemwa, the piece speaks directly of a woman’s struggle to break free of those traditional roles.
“To survive as a woman in Zimbabwe … one needs a hard hat,” Muchemwa said as she gazed at the collage, which combines photography and paintwork in an intentionally blurred yet striking image.
Chiwanga’s “Immortal” is one of 21 works by female artists that have been on show at the southern African country’s national gallery since International Women’s Day on March 8. The exhibition titled “We Should All Be Human” is a homage to women’s ambitions and their victories, Muchemwa said.
There are paintings, photographs, textiles, sculptures and ceiling installations. They broach issues like migration, the economy and health, but also far more contentious subjects in Zimbabwe, such as a woman’s reproductive rights. Some of the art seeks to provoke discussions around pregnancy and maternity leave.
“Immortal” calls for change and is an invitation for women to reinvent themselves, visual artist Chiwanga said.
“It’s not often to find women doing such kind of work as mining,” she said. “In Africa, women are mostly looked down upon. People just see the face or body but the work that you do can also represent your identity.”
In her collage, the reed basket, the money, Chiwanga’s satin skirt and her neatly manicured nails are manipulated with blurs of red, yellow, brown and black to showcase the complexities of…
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