Mthokozisi Ncube, [email protected]
BULAWAYO multidisciplinary artist Marcus Mayor is transforming his personal battle with depression and anxiety into art, using his experiences to challenge mental health stigma and encourage open conversations about struggles that often remain hidden.
Through his upcoming exhibition, A Mayor’s Memoir, at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, Mayor will combine painting, sculpture, photography and immersive installations to explore mental health and the emotional pressures people face in their daily lives.
Running from November 19, 2026, to January 30, 2027, the exhibition draws on the artist’s experiences during his late teens and early twenties, when art and journalling became vital sources of support.
Mayor, whose real name is Tinotenda Marcus Mutanga, said the project was inspired by a difficult period in his life when he struggled with depression and anxiety, finding solace in creative expression.
He said art and journalling helped him navigate those challenges, inspiring him to develop works that could offer others a sense of recognition and reassurance in their own struggles.
“Had it not been for art and journalling acting as my anchor, I would have spiralled,” he said.
The artist said mental health challenges were frequently shrouded in silence and misunderstanding, leaving many people afraid to speak openly about their experiences for fear of judgement and social stigma.
“Stigma acts as a heavy, invisible cage. It forces people to wear masks of normalcy while internally collapsing under economic, social and personal pressures,” he said.
Mayor added that mental health struggles were sometimes dismissed as signs of weakness or attributed exclusively to spiritual causes, rather than being addressed through appropriate psychological and emotional support.
Through A Mayor’s Memoir, he hopes to challenge these perceptions by presenting mental health as a human experience that deserves empathy, understanding and meaningful public discussion.
The exhibition will take visitors through four stages inspired by the “Hero’s Journey”, tracing a progression through emotional struggle, isolation, reconstruction and recovery.
According to Mayor, the collection will feature abstract canvases exploring anxiety, alongside an immersive installation incorporating upside-down tonne bags arranged to create a room within a room.
Broken plates will symbolise emotional fracture and the possibility of healing, while floral canvases will represent growth and hope, reinforcing the message that recovery remains possible even after deeply difficult experiences.
“Art provides a safe visual vocabulary for things people are too afraid to say out loud,” he said.
“By transforming private suffering into a shared public experience, the gallery stops being a passive viewing room and becomes an active dialogue space where healing can finally begin.”
Beyond the exhibition, Mayor hopes to develop A Mayor’s Memoir into a touring mental health advocacy platform, taking its message to audiences in other cities and expanding opportunities for public engagement.
He also revealed that 20 percent of proceeds from the auction of artworks would be donated to organisations dedicated to mental health awareness.
The project is supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Zimbabwe and Kay Media Africa.
Mayor is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist who is also pursuing a degree in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST).
He said moving between cities, schools and communities while growing up had helped shape his artistic identity and inspired his interest in translating complex human experiences into visual narratives.
Through the exhibition, he hopes visitors will leave feeling understood and encouraged to approach conversations about mental health with greater empathy, recognising the importance of listening without judgement.
“My ultimate hope is that visitors leave feeling seen, validated, and less alone in their struggles,” he said.
