Becoming Myself, the title of Percy Manyonga’s solo exhibition at Loft 3 Gallery, reads like a proposition based on Jungian philosophy.
But Manyonga's thread on board artworks is more than a treatise on the integration of the shadow-self.
They are material confessions that chart his journey to clarity, authenticity and psychological redemption.
Visual art curators and critics in Harare have acclimatised to certain non-traditional ways of making art, successfully employed by artists in textile and found objects.
Established practitioners, who currently define Zimbabwe's contemporary art include Kresiah Mukwazhi, Gina Maxim, Moffat Takadiwa, Johnson Zuze and Wallen Mapondera.
Manyonga has been a painter and mixed media artist for the best part of his career in the past two decades.
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His tentatively introduced textile work has become far removed from his previous work and different from what his peers are doing.
This exhibition shows him leaning in the new direction.
Usually, artists who do not fit within a trend are left out in the cold, doubted and made to doubt themselves.
But Manyonga has always found acceptance, with his work featuring in several important exhibitions, including FIVE BHOBH — Painting At the End of an Era, curated by Tandazani Dhlakama, at Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa and This is Our World, curated by Fadzai Muchemwa and Zvikomborero Mandangu, at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ). In some cases, his unique work could easily be overlooked because of overwhelming conformity in the room.
The solo exhibition at Loft 3 Gallery has provided him with the latitude to showcase a cohesive body of work.
The space lends breathing room for each one of his pieces to shine.
Presenting work in various dimensions, different materials and the inclusion of some experimental ones culminates in a rare experience.
Conceptually, Manyonga's work illustrates a single point developing into a line, which intertwines with itself or another to form a three-dimensional object.
In that sense, it mimics the String Theory as described by physicists. Sometimes called the “theory of everything,” it is the idea that reality is made up of filaments whose varying vibrational patterns create different particles of nature.
The theory remains unproven because, among other factors, it requires the existence of multiple extra dimensions that are compacted beyond observation.
One could say Manyonga's work comes from a similar depth and complexity.
Visually, the lines in Manyonga's work may resemble contours on a geographical map. At other times, the lines look like tissue in anatomical illustrations.
Differently, the lines can be compared to a physician’s representation of the nervous system.
Some pieces may look like a mess, but the continuity of the line anchors the work.
Manyonga appears to have gone so far down this path, he may find it difficult to go back to his earlier methods of making art.
The title of the exhibition suggests that he is fully committed to pursuing this direction. The artworks SILVER LINING 1 and 2, made out of poly woven potato pockets, are an exciting departure from the artist's regular materials.
The artist demonstrates unlimited possibilities for his concept. Manyonga proves that he has passed beyond discovering a novel way of making art, to creating a new language.
The trajectory of his career becomes similar to the innovative periods of Gareth Nyandoro with his process of kucheka cheka, and Troy Makaza with his silicone sculptures.
In Becoming Myself, the viewer is made acutely aware of the string, as it is woven into fine cloth or crocheted into a coarse blanket.
From a distance, some works look one-dimensional, like an abstract painting. Up close, the strings invoke the way each hair on the brush makes a line and overlays it countless times.
Quick thoughts come to mind for each piece. THICK FOREST simulates a dense, variegated landscape. The series MEANDERING plays on the idea of a misdirected process that goes all over the place. MELODIOUS BIRD is a delightful abstraction that somehow feels esoteric as the viewer attempts to decipher a hidden image that may not be there.
40C is so dense that one is tempted to think it predates painting. RUG shows the transition of string to fabric, as if illustrating the concretisation of the artists’ creative process.
MARJORIE MEJURI — an abstract head and shoulders portrait seems to allude to the subject's emotional terrain. WISHFUL THINKING, another head and shoulders portrait, invokes aspirations that are not tethered to reason.
SEARCHING THE LIGHT, with its dark background, offers contrast without which the white and coloured fabric would not be illuminated. DIAMOND FIELD has engaging geometric patterns that look like an aerial photograph over farmland. The series SPIDERS WEB speaks to entrapment and entanglements of any sort. The monochromatic FANTASY is an optimistic dream of entwined yellow strings.
Despite the project's positive impression on viewers, Becoming Myself is not motivated by external validation.
Medium, technique and process are not mere conveniences to Manyonga — but a consolidated projection of his metaphysical being.
The exhibition is a bold declaration of artistic freedom and unwavering commitment to the individual’s blind impulse.