Fadzayi Veronica Muchemwa, curator of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare, has proclaimed that the current, exhibition I did not leave a sign? which is on-going at the gallery was meant to provide local audience a chance to visualise the creative work which flew the Zimbabwean flag high at the la Biennale di Venezia, Italy in 2022.
Muchemwa said the curating of I did not leave a sign? which comprises the Zimbabwe Pavilion was done amid the COVID-19 constraints and restrictions when most communication was being done virtually. In addition, most of the eligible and participating visual artists — Kressiah Mukwazhi, Terrence Musekiwa, Ronald Muchatuta and Wallen Mapondera — were all outside the country.
The Zimbabwe Pavilion 59th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia 2022 took place at the Santa Maria della Pieta and Calle Della Pieta venues in Venezia in a period stretching over seven months. During this period a record traffic of approximately over 65 000 visited the Zimbabwe Pavilion and drew the attention of adjudicators to select Mukwashi for a presentation in a radio and television panel.
Three Zimbabwean artists were chosen to make an exhibition at the Art Bassille. Art gallery etiquette prescribe that all pavilions should exhibit in their home countries’ galleries before they are showcased on the international market.
“I did the curation of the I did not leave a sign? exhibition which was meant for Italy. The theme imposed itself because of the extenuating circumstances emanating from COVID-19. The world lost several important people who did not leave behind souvenirs or inheritance for remembrance. People could not mourn in the traditional way where they would gather and decide on a burial,” Muchemwa said.
“Most of the artists who were eligible for selection were also away from home. The participating artists Mukwazhi, Musekiwa, Muchatuta and Mapondera were all outside the country. As people passed on, the spirit of death haunted many and the title is highly referral to individual sentiment, passion, on what legacies or histories one would want to leave behind.”
She urged citizens, schools and colleges to visit the National Art Gallery in Zimbabwe, Harare so that they learn more about creative expressions.
“I did not leave a sign? corresponds to the magic and strange beauty in the unexpected, uncanny disregarded and unconventional, which are at the centre of this exploration of legacies.
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“Haunted by the spectre of a past we cannot shake, a present we cannot bear, and a future we can no longer confidently imagine, we argue for the usefulness of enlivening stories of resistance and survival and how to centre ourselves at the heart of chaos…,” read the synopsis of the exhibition in part.
