Gareth Nyandoro

Gareth Nyandoro. Dialogues with art. More insights into the 56th Venice Biennale 2015 Zimbabwe Pavilion. Pixels of Ubuntu/Unhu. Exploring the social and cultural identities of the 21st century. When works or art are created they take on new meanings that keep the concept growing.Gareth Nyandoro has brought people into the streets of Harare. The idea of experiencing sound that is not imposing because you know the source. The installation has a continuous recording that repeats itself and it will be the sounds of a street seller calling out ‘dollar for two’. The sound is mixed with urban city sounds that are found in market areas. Gareth Nyandoro has always taken it to the street with his topics. It reminds me of his work ‘lollipop stars’. A very close look at the street culture and the survival of the urban man.  The work claims its own space in the same manner that the temporary selling points are set up. An individual can claim an area or space in the ‘concrete jungle’ despite the fact that they are never permanent. A constant existence where the police or the council are constantly chasing you from the urban inner city public spaces. A transient existence where one is constantly on the move. ‘First Street performer’ is an art work that has made visitors pay attention to craftsmanship and the subject. The detail that first draws the visitor into the work is the incredible and highly technical skill. The paper is cut in to thin strips and re arranges them. Constructs, deconstructs and then reconstructs. First street performer has visitors connecting with their own first streets where they come from and if it would work to have a performer in their first street. The core idea being how people are caught up in an Urban cycle trying to survive and to get noticed and appreciated.The installation stands alone in its own room. As if to claim its space in Venice and say ‘this is where I am setting up my shop / ‘Mushikashika wavanhu’.