Bilateral relations between Germany and Zimbabwe are bearing great fruit in the arts sector with the latest development being due to a partnership between the Zimbabwe German Societyo and the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe. This has resulted in Bulawayo based painter Nonhlanhla Mathe touring and organising three exhibitions in Ahus, Germany between the 24th of May until the 18th of June. Titled “Ikhotha Eyikhothayo”, the exhibition sees Zimbabwean women being given a platform to showcase their artwork.
Mathe’s paintings are abstract and semi abstract art on fabrics and canvas, with lots of texture and a colourful finish. Very much inspired by the environment, people’s lives, the way they view things and the way they relate to each other. I focus mainly on women as a woman. Mathe’s work offers an insight in what she calls “Sadza Painting” which is the painting technique in which a porridge-like paste of maize or wheat-meal is pasted onto dyed fabric. Sadza is porridge in Shona and this serves as an innovative Shona art medium. When designs are drawn onto the fabric and sun dried, the batik is stretched and this cracks the dried porridge. During the course of the exhibition in Germany Mathe guides and accompanies the viewers of art. They also get to learn interesting facts about the art and culture of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwean German Society project coordinator, Reverend Kerstin Hemker, seeks to use this initiative to expose up and coming Zimbabwean artists to the global stage. The German embassy’s other work includes a 2022 collaboration with Ekhaya Gaia in Bulawayo for the ‘From Huts to Pots’ project contributing towards the preservation and greater visibility of Ndebele artform of home decoration. Germany’s Theatre Strahl and Zimbabwe’s IYASA recently collaborated on a climate change themed theatre production titled “How is the weather?”, a comment on the bilateral ties between Germany and Zimbabwe.
Mathe has done solo exhibitions at the National Gallery in Bulawayo, group exhibitions in local national galleries in Bulawayo and Harare. Outside of Zimbabwe she ha s exhibited at the National Gallery in Botswana, Casa de’ cultura Beira Mozambique, The Dancing fish Gallery in Louis Trichard South Africa, and the Crista’s fine Tribal Morden Art gallery in Copenhagen Denmark.
