My artwork (Interrogated and Tortured) tells about the struggle and tragedy that Mbuya Nehanda the female Shona mhondoro faced during her lifetime, she was a spirit medium (svikiro) of the Zezuru people. In my artwork there are two figures that show mbuya Nehanda and sekuru Kaguvi in a creative way.I decided to paint them with red colour to depict the blood that was shed when there were executed. The artwork also shows mbuya Nehanda legs when she was chained by British people. She was a powerful woman spirit medium that was committed to upholding traditional Shona culture.
Zuva Rekupedzisira
Zuva Rekupedzisira (Last Day) is a mixed medium artwork of acrylics and oil pastels. It’s an artwork that tries to portray the event that transpired during the colonial era of Zimbabwe when Mbuya Nehanda was hanged by the British. The chains bound on her neck resemble the materials used to execute the inhumane act. In the portrait, I used different colours to show the motives of the British colonial rule and what Mbuya Nehanda was fighting for which also led to her execution. The red colour I painted tells about the blood spilt when she was hanged by the British. The yellow colour resembles the minerals which Mbuya Nehanda was trying to defend from being taken by the whites. To pave way to total access to the vegetation they had to execute her, the black colour represents the skin of Mbuya Nehanda and all the black majority.
