The Sunday News
Bhekumuzi Ncube, Sunday Life Reporter
PERHAPS the most well-structured and organised arts exhibition to date at the National Gallery in Bulawayo– ImagiNation solo art exhibition was a tremendous success.
The exhibition was organised by Dumi Nkosilathi Manyathela who showcased amazing artworks from drawing, graphic design, photography, print making, textile design, 3 dimensional design, industrial design, film and video production and specialization.
His solo exhibition was part of his partial fulfillment for Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Creative Art and Design. Manyethela, who is a Chinhoyi University student presented his creative imaginative prowess through the works he has produced over a period of four years.
The talented artiste used papers, graphics, recycled material, still photographs and motion pictures to produce work which enabled people to explore contrast between a world where the impossible is made possible.
Addressing people who attended the exhibition, the guest of honour Bryony Rheam said Manyethela pulled the audience deeper and deeper into a space that allows people to escape from their ordinary reality in exchange for a world of fantasy.
“Manyathela`s work is an exploration of the different forms of storytelling (visual and motion) the surrealism of which represents the life of feelings and emotions that resonate with the viewers. It is indeed through such a platform that the public are given a chance to come to a place of visual heritage, to not only celebrate art, but to also come to feel and experience it, which is of course, art’s purpose,” she said.
The outstanding artworks showcased on the exhibition was from the graphic design, photography, film, video production and specialisation through which Manyathela produced Londisizwe, which means Take Care of the Nation.
Londisizwe is a short film with purpose of bringing awareness to the society about the girl child being at risk in child marriages. The film is to be used as a tool to prevent child marriages and promote the emancipation of the girl child, and Rheam said this showed the importance of arts in communicating and spreading timely information to the public.
“Londisizwe is an example of art providing a voice to those that have been made voiceless and how film can be a means of challenging societies with many abnormalities,” she said.
Bream said young artistes were facing different difficulties to thrive in Zimbabwe, and Manyathela was very lucky to have incredibly supportive parents.
“The success of this exhibition is due to Dumi`s parents who have done a good job for his solo exhibition to be very successful. I am sure I do not need to outline how difficult it is to be an artist, especially an emerging artist, in Zimbabwe today. Not only does the economic ystem work against them, but our culture itself is one that not always values or respects the artist. Buying artworks as an investment is rare and our school system is often at fault for prizing Mathematics and the Sciences over the Arts, without seeing that all subjects are inter-linked,” she said.
Manyathela who was the center of attraction on the day looked happy with how his solo exhibition had turned out, and he advised other arts students to be perseverant and creative in pursuing their artistic dreams.
“To everyone who wants to study arts, they should be brave and creative as well as avoid being afraid or being intimidated by negative comments from haters,” he said.
Mayathela said he created artwork that provoked interaction and interpretation between viewers of his work.
“Within the elements of my art works I tried by all means to contrast a world where impossibilities are made possible. My aim was to use artistic skills as medium to pull the viewers from a logical and common world so that they can place themselves in a more vibrant place,” he said.
Manyathela is a Bulawayo resident by birth, whose love for art initiated when he was a toddler. His talent was later groomed at Centenary Primary School and at St Patrick’s Christian Brothers’ College where he studied Art for ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level. He enrolled for Bachelor of Science (Honours) Degree Programme in Creative Art and Design at the Chinhoyi University of Technology in 2014. In 2015, he won Best Editing Award at Chinhoyi Film Festival.
This year he won awards for Best Film, Best Story and Best Camera Work at the same festival.
His ImagiNation solo exhibition was attended by Director of the National Gallery Vote Thebe, district administrator of Binga Lydia Ndete, ACOP Bishop Hadebe, among other guests. Students from Creative College of Africa, Christian Brother’s College, Bulawayo Polytechnic and Centenary Primary School also attended the colourful event.
