

Mostaff Muchawaya
Anodiwa, 2021
Acrylic on Canvas
115.5 x 87 cm
Copyright The Artist
Mostaff Muchawayacreates multi-layered landscapes and portraits of people drawn from memories of his upbringing in the mountainous Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe. Muchawaya’s portraits are a complex confluence of portraiture and...
Mostaff Muchawayacreates multi-layered landscapes and portraits of people drawn from memories of his upbringing in the mountainous Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe. Muchawaya’s portraits are a complex confluence of portraiture and self-portraiture, autobiography, and fiction. In his work, the artist expresses a deep connection to his memories and experiences, which are inseparable from ‘his people’ and surroundings. He continuously refers to his rural upbringing; his art serves as a safe space, a home he reverts to. While the paintings are new in their material form, to Muchawaya they are deep-rooted, remembered renderings. His portraits are a combination of memories, a dream-like flash of faces that shape an impression of a half-remembered experience. As with memories, the works encompass all embellishments and subjectivities layered on top of one another.