Zimbabwe

_{Posted on Thursday 07-06-2007}

'Uncomfortable truths' exhibition

By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka

_{Renowned Contemporary Zimbabwean sculptor Tapfuma Gutsa is among 11 international artists commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museums to produce work for an exhibition titled 'The Uncomfortable Truths' that marks the bi-centenary ban of the British Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Running under the theme 'Remembering Slavery', the exhibition that ends on June 17th also features renowned artists among them Beninese artists Romuald Hazoumé and Julien Sinzogan, the Ghanaian El Anatsui, the British artist Keith Piper, American artists Fred Wilson and Michael Paul Britto and German artist Christine Meisner.}

_{The works draw attention to the hidden, overlooked and even contentious histories that link some of the historic objects on permanent display to the slave trade of past centuries and on the legacies of imperialism and slave trade. Gutsa, who is considered one of Zimbabwe most prominent sculptors for his work that uses a combination of stone, metal, wood, wire, paper and string, produced two pieces - Ancient Voyages and Tribute to Sango.}

_{Ancient Voyages done in form of a musical instrument will be mounted next to the bust of George Frideric Handel who influenced many other European composers including Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven in the British Sculpture Gallery when the exhibition ends.} 

_{"This exhibition shows some uncomfortable truths, such as how the lifestyle of the privileged classes was dependent on the suffering of slaves. We hope these contemporary interventions will encourage people to think about slavery in today’s world as well as its historic connections to British culture," Curator Zoe Whitley said. It is estimated that 12 million Africans were put onto slave ships before slavery was abolished and the UN estimates that 100 million children are exploited in forms of slavery today.}

_{Gutsa was the first recipient of a British Council scholarship that enabled him to study for three years - 1982-1985 - at the London School of Art for a Diploma in sculpture. The time he spent in England and the formal art education he learnt helped in showing Gutsa the way he wanted his own art to go. Critics describe his art as something with "a wider international art environment" and his approach to each piece as a fresh challenge to the "established concepts of Zimbabwean stone sculpture". Gutsa is usually cited as a role model by a number of Zimbabwe’s renowned sculptors today, among them Dominic Benhura, Garrison Machinjili, Fabian Madamombe, Wenceslaus Marufu and Jonathan Gutsa. Some of his most famous works are The Hidden Agenda (1991), Ya Asantewa (1989), The lullaby (1990), Ari and Farai, Baby Kick (1989) Calling Bird, (1992), The Guitar (1988) and Songs of the Rhino (1990) which all are sometimes "harsh and strident, at times poetic and full of harmony".}

_{Gutsa has won the overall award of excellence in the National Gallery of Zimbabwe competition twice. Just like Benhura, Gutsa is not only admired in Zimbabwe for his good art but also helping upcoming artists.}

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