Chronicle Editor
Angela Sibanda, Showbiz Correspondent
“As the big day draws closer, things are starting to get a bit hectic and the excitement is making it a bit difficult to sleep, let alone take a break because the work has to be perfect.”
These are the words of visual artist Zibusiso Tshuma (Zie) from Gwanda who will be staging his first solo exhibition at Alliance Francaise De Bulawayo from March 10 to May 6.
With just a few days left before the exhibition, Zie is going through the dilemma of selecting 20 pieces to exhibit from a pile of close to 40 art pieces that he has been working on since last year for his exhibition titled ‘Little things that matter’.
He said the title of his collection was inspired by a statement from one of his high school teachers which made him realise how much little things that are taken for granted, contribute to the social structure.
“One of my teachers at high school always used to say ‘take care of the little things and the bigger things will take care of themselves’. Growing up, I realised how much the small things that we’re taught at home end up determining the type of people that we become and the type of communities that we lead,” Zie said.
He said his art represents “our cultural practices and beliefs that we are taught and who we are as a people.” Zie’s art is centred around human figures, especially faces with different patterns in different colours which represent people’s emotions and feelings in different aspects of life.
“For my art, I use small details that I create using diverse patterns in different colours to shape something bigger and beautiful in the eyes of beholders.”
Zie was one of the artists who represented Matabeleland South at the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo for the annual group exhibition last year. He became one of the new resident artists at the gallery early this year.
“Being able to participate at the group exhibition last year was one of the greatest experiences that I’ve always longed for. Now being able to have my own studio and work from the gallery is a whole dream come true. I feel like I’ve already achieved one of my goals because I’ve always wanted to come this far,” Zie said.
His exhibition at the Alliance de Francaise will be the first solo exhibition to be conducted at the venue as they usually host group exhibitions.
“I really feel lucky and privileged that they’re taking a bet on me. This is one of the reasons why I’m working tirelessly to try and make sure that I deliver something that’ll be worthy of this opportunity.
“In my journey as an artist, I’ve realised that I have a very viable market outside the country, rather than locally and taking note of the place’s clientele, I really feel like something positive will come out of this exhibition,” said an optimistic Zie.
The artist further said he is not looking at making any sales on the exhibition as he is rather focused on building his CV and possibly attracting new clients for his work.
His artwork has been sold to several international clients with one being sold at an exhibition in Harare after it had to be bid for as three clients wanted it.
“Sometimes, it may look like local people are not supporting art, but the truth is that visual art appears to be expensive to local people because of the current economic situation in the country. That’s why some may think art is expensive.
“From international clients, I’m always getting comments that I’m underpricing my work, but to an ordinary citizen here, the prices sound too much for a piece of art,” said Zie.
The story of his art journey is very familiar to many as he, at some point, went to university to study a programme that he thought he needed. But, he ended up dropping out after one semester to focus on art. “I grew up in Gwanda and when I moved here (Bulawayo) for university, I saw so many opportunities in the arts industry. I found myself focusing on attending exhibitions and researching more on art.
“This made me realise that the programme that I was here for was not what I wanted to do. So, during the Covid-19 lockdown, I thought deeply about my career and engaged my parents. After long deliberations, we came to an agreement that I could drop school to focus on perfecting my art skills,” he said.
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