adminDr Tony Monda Art Zone
“Bitter-SWEET HOME” is an exhibition of sculptural pieces by Shannon Murphy, a new signature on the Zimbabwean art scene. Many Zimbabwean artists who have studied in the Occident are faced with the uphill task of finding a footing back home. Conceptual artist Shannon Murphy has been able to connect and collect found objects from Zimbabwe and Southern Africa to create visual metaphors alluding to her exhibition concept — “Home, Bitter-Sweet Home”.
Solo art exhibitions are ideal for the examination and development of a strain of thought as well as a continuity and distillation of a body of work.
Murphy’s found objects “nest” series is an exploration of the concept of home sparked by the upheaval of the land reform programme in Zimbabwe where Shannon Murphy was born and raised her young and naive perception of “belonging” was unsettled by territorial disputes, questions of racial origins, cultural differences, ownership, human rights and community responsibility.
In her work “Free Like a Bird”, she explores the concept of freedom and of self-limitation, the unanimous struggle that people suffer at some point in their lives and feel powerless to overcome. This piece incorporates metal hands struggling out of rock and learning to take flight representing how hardship brings about “learning” and the ability to let go and find peace.
“Free Like a Bird” is influenced by Jung’s theories with the collective unconscious, alchemy and spiritual transformation and individuation as a physiological process in relation to the concept of freedom.
The lengthy sculpturing process in itself transformed the spirit and mind of the artist forming a catalyst in Murphy’s re-use of found objects as a means of finding beauty and hope in what could appear as a forgotten crumbling wasteland.
In a constant state of flux the idea is influenced by the context, environment and mood in which it is made-with a kind of suspended spontaneity. The materials used tend to be natural or recycled, serving both a structural and symbolic function.
The process of weaving each nest is meditative and allows reflection on ideals of structure, such as where one might settle down; invest financially in family or personal commitments.
Often left outdoors to the elements, the nests erode weather, disintegrate overtime, which is a reminder that all phases of life are — transient, with circumstances always changing.
She sees her “nest” series as a work-in-progress eliciting the fundamental questions “who are we?” “Where do we come from?” Where are we going?”
Born in 1987 and educated in Zimbabwe, Murphy left to study for a Visual Arts Diploma in 2006 in Brisbane, Australia. She is a mixed-media artist who explores subjective themes that carry universal connotations.
Using wide range of materials, including paint, clay, wood, metal, wire, plastic, packets, found objects and photographs, Murphy is inspired by music and narratives she garners from her environmental milieu.
She has had two solo shows in Brisbane and participated in various group shows in Zimbabwe and Australia. In 2007, at the age of 20, she received the overall “Fusion’s Conceptual Arts Awards” in Australia and has carried out several public art commissions in that continent. “Home Bitter-Sweet Home” is her first Zimbabwean art exhibition.
“Tyred Home” is a nest made from discarded electricity cables and wire from burnt tyres, which alludes to our irregular electricity supply and its effect of destabilising normal patterns of daily life in Zimbabwe.
A witty piece entitled “First Love Nest” comprises a nest made of a shirt and a skirt with embryonic of foetal shaped stones in a burnt nest — the obvious allusions to one’s first love and the dreams they weave.
Resettling in one’s land following a spell of absence often gives one a bird’s eye view of one’s space of origins. It is this heightened perception which makes her work formidable and accessible.
Her works also deliver a sense of connection with Zimbabwe and international art world and her pieces are replete with carefully considered universal affinities of a sense of home.
Battered, burned, twisted or sedate, home is always best.
Her works become more than aesthetic objects for our delectation; they articulate an ongoing dialogue about our sense of self, the upheavals of displacement and the security and sense of belonging one feels when they are secure in their homes and on their land.
Her works engage us on this level and tease us to reflect and be consciously aware of our existence. A space becomes a living body that needs to be appropriated in order to be inhabited. Her thought-provoking works of art will no doubt inhabit many spaces in our minds and homes.
Dr Tony Monda holds a PhD in Post-Modern Art Theory and a Doctorate in Business Administration ( DBA) in Post-Colonial Art and Heritage Studies. He holds a Law and Art Diploma from Georgetown University, Washington DC and worked with WALA (Washington Area Lawyers Association). He worked as an intern in Psychology of Art and Remedial Art Therapy at the Lafayette School of Art Therapy for the Mentally Handicapped Children, in New Orleans, USA. He also studied law and photography at the Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC. He is a practising artist, art critic, author, designer and corporate image consultant.
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