Masimba Hwati

Masimba Hwati. 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.Msimba Hwati’s ten piece series makes all our visitors appreciate who we are in this life. The way the symbols are instantly identifiable by children as young as two to three years old. These have truly become our urban totems. A totem being a symbol that identifies ones  existence in relation to that which is in our surrounding or that of mythical quality. Masimba Hwati’s series ‘Urban totems’ series has what has been described by some of the visitors as being ‘pop and yet at the same time being relevant to our digital era’The element of using denim as the material to print on has fascinated many visitors and artists. The idea of denim was raised by a visitor who spoke of how ‘this transcends into the realm of industrialism and how denim is so constantly been a part of it all but from behind the scenes because we wear it’. Denim has been a part of us for many years and is a fabric that is used in industry and fashion. Shaping our identity. The totems in the portraits give the visitor and impression of being under a form of hypnosis. Controlled by the totem and guided to see. Guided to see the world in a Whats app way, twitter way, Google way and KFC way. Most visitors relate with the concept of Ubuntu/ Unhu as they observe how people no longer speak to each other verbally/ directly. A pleasing series to walk through as the portraits look back at you and remind you that you too are on whatsapp and Face Book and also drink coca cola. Our urban self.