eBusiness Weekly
Kresiah Mukwazhi is a young multifaceted artist who has recently opened at the Stellenbosch Museum of Art and Culture in Stellenbosch South Africa.
Q: Can you briefly describe the kind of work you do and the inspiration behind your work?
A: I am a multi-disciplinary artist. I express myself through photography, video, installation, sculpture, painting and performance. My inspiration comes from discomfort, it is in questioning and disagreeing that I find my voice. For a very long time young women have been expected to be silent, we are not to question the patriarchal perspective, we are not to challenge it, we are simply to accept it and deal with it. I do not agree with this way of living and my work is an expression of my views regarding Feminism and chauvinistic views.
Q: As a former student of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe School of Visual Arts and Design, how did the school and the institution help you establish your career?
A: The NGZVAS is not a school to me, it is home. Through the skills I acquired there I became more and more confident in myself as an artist. I found my destiny and I have run with it ever since. I am grateful for this experience, it was priceless.
Q: Concerning your solo exhibition at the SMAC gallery, what do you hope the audience will achieve from the Bedroom interview exhibition?
A: With Bedroom Interview, I want to begin conversations around the ongoing issue of sexual assault in various spaces. I want to take a stand against the silence which I feel is a major problem. Many powerful men in powerful positions, who have assaulted women remain protected and unaffected because of this silence. Bedroom Interview seeks solutions, it celebrates the survivors and it challenges patriarchal views.
Q: What made you feel the need to address gender-based violence and sexual assault in your current solo exhibition?
A: I worked in a Harare nightclub for nearly six months, prior to that I had been doing research on the lives of sex workers in Harare too. I also reside in an area where sex workers come out at night in search for clients. Due to these experiences, I became interested in challenging the mindset that if one is a woman and they are employed, they must have compromised themselves to management somehow. I wanted to unpack issues around the disgusting habits that we have normalised which in actual fact oppress the woman.
Q: Do you have a distinctive theme you follow with every artwork you create?
A: I am very deliberate about being a woman. My sex influences how people listen to me, look at me, analyse me, question me — so I use my experience as a woman to fuel my inspiration.
Q: What kind of works should people expect to see from the exhibition?
A: There are paintings, sculptures, and an installation which includes some photographs.
