Zimbabwe's Venice Pavilion Explores Adaptation and Resilience Through Five Artists
'Second Nature | Manyonga,' curated by Fadzai Veronica Muchemwa, showcases Zimbabwe at the 61st Venice Biennale, themed In Minor Keys. The exhibition includes artists Franklyn Dzingai, Gideon Gomo, Pardon Mapondera, Eva Raath, and Felix Shumba, who delve into concepts of materiality, memory, and transformation. Muchemwa highlighted the idea of neuroplasticity as a lens for understanding identity development, challenging the belief that adaptation is always beneficial. The word 'Manyonga' embodies resistance and material remnants. The artists utilize various materials to interrogate themes of repair and change. Muchemwa urged against the expectation for Zimbabwean artists to define the nation, promoting a portrayal of diverse, conflicting viewpoints instead of a unified story. Visitors are invited to contemplate the implications of adaptation.
Key facts
- 'Second Nature | Manyonga' is Zimbabwe's National Pavilion exhibition at the 61st Venice Biennale, themed In Minor Keys
- The exhibition is curated by Fadzai Veronica Muchemwa
- Five artists are featured: Franklyn Dzingai, Gideon Gomo, Pardon Mapondera, Eva Raath and Felix Shumba
- Neuroplasticity serves as a conceptual framework for the exhibition's thinking about memory and transformation
- 'Manyonga' carries meanings including resistance, rhizomatic movement, arms or embraces, and bones or fragments
- Gideon Gomo's 'Audience of One' marks a departure from his stone sculptural practice into bronze and charcoal
- Felix Shumba produces the charcoal used in his large-scale drawings by transforming organic matter through fire
- Muchemwa cautioned against romanticising resilience, arguing it should not normalise structural difficulties
Entities
Artists
- Fadzai Veronica Muchemwa
- Franklyn Dzingai
- Gideon Gomo
- Pardon Mapondera
- Eva Raath
- Felix Shumba
- Suzette Bell-Roberts
Institutions
- National Pavilion of Zimbabwe
- La Biennale di Venezia
- Venice Biennale
- ART AFRICA
Locations
- Zimbabwe
- Venice
- Italy