adminBongani Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
FINAL year students at the Mzilikazi Art and Craft Centre yesterday joined the rest of the nation in commemorating the 15th anniversary of the death of Vice President Dr Joshua Nkomo by exhibiting 12 portraits in his honour.The students were assisted by the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) in Bulawayo.
The drawings are head portraits of Dr Nkomo during different occasions before and after independence starting from his days as a trade unionist.
Speaking on behalf of the students, Nhlanhla Sibanda said the idea to celebrate Dr Nkomo’s life was conceived last year.
“I personally drew five portraits of Dr Nkomo. We thought of honouring this Zimbabwean icon by mounting an exhibition of his portraits,” he said.
Sibanda said some of his peers used pictures from newspapers while others used their imagination to draw portraits of Dr Nkomo.
The 12 portraits are available for public viewing at the Mzilikazi Arts and Craft Centre and those that want to buy them will fork out between $50 and $70.
NGZ director Voti Thebe said he was challenged by the students’ enthusiasm to honour the late Father Zimbabwe.
“The Mzilikazi students came to see me some time ago asking if they could exhibit the portraits at the gallery. The gallery curator Cliford Zulu said it was better for the exhibition to be held at Mzilikazi Art and Craft Centre,” he said.
Thebe said he ended up having a painting of his own which was also displayed at yesterday’s exhibition.
His canvas painting had 82 portraits of Dr Nkomo in different colours. According to Thebe, he used a variety of colours to show how Father Zimbabwe loved all types of people.
“The 82 portraits depict the number of years Dr Nkomo lived. I deliberately left the colour red because it represents strife, fighting and bloodshed – things that were against Dr Nkomo’s ethos,” Thebe said.
derick.khumalo