NAMA award winning visual artist Webster Mubayirenyi recently showed off a dazzling mural he completed at the Chimanimani Community Biodiversity Learning Centre.
Far from the visual art hubs of Harare and Bulawayo, and removed from corporate agendas the artwork is aimed at the local community and promotes sustainable socio-economic development.
Murals are artworks that are executed directly onto a wall or ceiling. They are the oldest known form of art that began when ancient people painted on caves.
Murals are easily accessible to the public, socially engaging, and reflect the culture of the place where they are located. Commissioned by Peza Trust, Mubayirenyi transforms the building’s outside wall and an extension into a wonderland of mountain peaks, cascading waterfall, and vibrant flora and fauna. From a lower perspective the top of the wall appears to blend with the skyline into an expansive landscape.
“The mural is an artist’s representation of quartzite peaks of Mt Binga, the Turret Towers (Mawenje), and one of the many beautiful waterfalls you find in these beautiful mountains.” says Jane High, founding member at Peza Trust and commissioner of the mural. The center which is in the process of development is planned to be a place where local children will be taught the importance of their unique environment, and how to care for, and protect it from degradation and vandalism.
Chimanimani Mountains stretch along the border of Zimbabwe with Mozambique. They are quartzite ridges with significant peaks such as Mt Peza, Mt Dombe, Mt Mawenje, and Mt Binga which has the highest elevation at approximately 2,436 meters. The region is a critical ecosystem composed of lush vegetation, grasslands, and forests which are considered to be the biodiversity hotspot of the country. Local and international tourists visit this area for hiking, birding, and the stunning mountaintop views.
The region is also rich in wildlife, and rare plant species.
Mubayirenyi is predominantly a semi abstract landscape painter whose works are mostly executed on canvas. He has worked on several important projects that include some out of the public eye at the official residency of the First Family. In 2021 Mubayirenyi assisted by Calvin Chimutuwah, Hermit Muyambo, and Tonley Ngwenya completed a 90x90 square meter mural on the ceiling of the new Parliament in Mt Hampden.
The composition showed scenes from rock paintings photographed at different locations to represent diverse sites from different regions of the country.
The artist also worked on a ground surface mural on Speke Avenue between Julius Nyerere and Leopold Takawira streets, in 2015. With his latest project, country folk in Chimanimani get to collectively own a powerfully evocative artwork credited to one the country’s eminent visual art practitioners.
Ms High is a long-term conservationist, and advocate for sustainable socio-economic development. Revealing her major concern she says, “Throughout Zimbabwe our natural ecological processes are being shattered by human activities such as gold panning within river systems, mass clearance of functional woodlands, and unsound commercial farming practices. Only by educating our communities about the role biodiversity plays to our health, wellbeing, and safety can we secure a better future for all Zimbabweans.”
The mural caught the eye of radio presenter Lazaraus Mahoso who interviewed Mubayirenyi for the program Art Talk on Chimanimani FM. The artist shared with Mahoso that he was proud of this project because it was in his provincial home of Manicaland. “I hope people will enjoy it.” he said with a tone of personal satisfaction.
The colorful scenes on the mural depict different species of birds soaring over the landscape dominated with towering bare peaks. Below them the verdant terrain is populated with various creatures.
A snake under a tree recalls the biblical legend of the serpent that tempted Eve.
A deer looks as if it stopped grazing to stare at the intruding observer. A foraging monkey with a baby on its back appears to casually wander away. Three women are depicted cultivating a cleared tract of land. One of the women has a baby on her back, mirroring the baboon and its infant.
The women working in a cleared field are reminiscent of the illustration from the reverse side of a Kombo Moyana signed five dollar note from 1980. Overall, the scene is a kind of reminder to humanity about co-existence and shared custodianship of the earth together with other creatures such as insects, birds, reptiles, and animals. Instead of being an obvious distraction, the burglar bars on the windows to the building seem to allow a peek into the dark depths of the mountain wherein ancient secrets are entombed.
Some objects may not be proportionally representative or photorealistic but they carry symbolic significance. A bee is scaled up adjacent to a Paradise Flycatcher, and a butterfly appears relatively larger. What holds the composition together is its leading perspective that draws the viewer into the majestic scene. The play of light and shadows lend depth to the Edenic landscape.
Furthermore, the image appeals to the viewer through subtle detail such as the lean of the tall Aloe arborescens plant with its bluish grey leaves and flowering stems of red flowers, the silent gait of the baboon, and the calm but alert posture of the deer.
The cascading waterfall in the center of the mural, and the pool below it anchors the piece, and invoke spiritual beliefs associated with the region.
Traditionally indigenous people have always treated the bush / masango with reverence, gratitude and supplication before gathering fruit, hunting for game, and extracting other natural resources.
While understanding his brief, Mubayirenyi may have also been inspired by his Judeo-Christian religious beliefs.
Chimanimani Mountains hold numerous sites that are considered to be sacred by the local communities. That includes pools, springs, caves, burial places, and shrines. Some caves are used by spirit mediums and traditional healers. The peaks of the mountains are viewed with enigma and mysticism. Ancient San rock paintings found in this region may be regarded as the soundboard from which Mubayirenyi’s murals locate their echo.
“This mural reminds us that our own health is bound up within the health of our environment…Throughout Zimbabwe our natural ecological processes are being shattered by human activities such as gold panning within river systems, mass clearance of functional woodlands, and unsound commercial farming practices. Only by educating our communities about the role biodiversity plays to our health, wellbeing and safety can we secure a better future.” says Ms High.
“It’s a beacon of hope, and a ray of light for our community.”
The unique collaboration between Ms High and Mubayirenyi brings her compassionate environmental activism to bear on the latter’s internal authenticity. The result is a rare work of art that activates the viewer’s ability to self-reflect, and elluminates the timeless truth of existence.
About reviewer
Nyadzombe Nyampenza is an art critic, photographer, and conceptual artist. In 2023 he was the Nama recipient for outstanding journalist (Print). He was awarded second prize at the Zimbabwe Annual Art Exhibition (2016), and represented Zimbabwe at Bamako Encounters (Photography Biennale) in Mali (2015). Nyadzombe was the 2020 Fellow at Apex Art, in New York City. He is passionate about non-fiction creative writing and his ambition is to raise public awareness about visual arts from Zimbabwe through engaging, accessible, critical, and entertaining narratives.
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