Notes

Trained at the University of Pretoria, Zimbabwe-born Kudzanai Chiurai achieved early prominence through a series of exhibitions in Johannesburg (2004-08) showcasing his agitprop, mixed-media paintings. Dying to be Men (2009), his debut exhibition at Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, introduced audiences to his photographic work. Fluent from the outset, this representational medium dovetailed well with Chiurai’s practice, which continues to explore the aesthetics of power, propaganda and resistance. In 2011 he began to work with film. This photograph is based on a scene in his five-minute film, Creation (2012), part of a trilogy that includes Iyeza (2011) and Moyo (2013). Vividly styled and operatic, the film trilogy obliquely explores the carnivorous politics of Chiurai’s native Zimbabwe, and also draws on the artist’s experiences with anti-immigrant violence in Johannesburg. Strong female protagonists feature throughout. Chiurai elaborates: “In Creation the central role of the woman is self-explanatory: she is the one giving birth. In Iyeza she is Jesus, the one to be sacrificed. In Moyo the women are mourners and observers. Violence is a very male phenomenon, while women usually play a central role in conflict resolution … It’s not women making war, but they carry a lot of the burden.”¹

^1. Edo Dijksterhuis, The perpetual motion of power: Interview with Kudzanai Chiurai, www.artslant.com, February 2014.

Provenance

Another example from the edition is in the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town.