Zacharaha Magasa
Born 1988 Harare, Zimbabwe
Lives and works in Harare, Zimbabwe
My work is driven by lines of direct and indirect dialogues of everyday life. I am interested in notions of socio-politics, environmental decay, territorial or land and cultural resistance.
My stories normally emanate from my immediate surroundings, I pick dialogues from politically motivated gatherings, distractive systems of consumerism and environmental negligence practices. I believe language and communication is expressed in different ways depending on the intent of the message.
Climate change is a message so is police brutality and all the conversations of life. Though I use different types of non-conventional materials rubber is the most prevalent because of its potency and association with slavery and oppression both in Africa and around the globe. In my method of work I use lines to draw figurative or symbolic forms, to represent movement but also drift in and out of figuration and are references to both contemporary political events as well as childhood memories.
For me different materials and their capacity for manipulation are an opportunity to explore and develop ideas and carry meaning, like telephone lines, which move information from one place to the other or spheres which can be morph into figures, while recalling footballs, we wove out of plastic as children.
Concurrently using rubber strips, which can be woven to mean speaks to Zimbabwean traditions and ideals of unity among people and unison with nature.
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