In a new exhibit at Gallery 101, Zimbabwean artist Chikonzero Chazunguza uses stickers, a pile of cornmeal, and mixed media paintings to comment on politics, culture, and the art of waiting.
Bounty is on display from Oct. 25 until Nov. 30 at the Centretown gallery, an artist-run exhibition space on Bank Street. The exhibit features photographs, three new paintings, and an interactive “performance art installation,” all centered on the themes of abundance, scarcity, and standing in line.
Chazunguza developed the body of work after moving to Canada in 2009, but says the diverse pieces have been inspired by his entire life. The artist was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, and studied in Bulgaria. He witnessed political turmoil when Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in the 1960s and then again when Bulgarian communism collapsed in the late 1980s.
“What makes Chiko an interesting artist is that he gathers all these different influences and tries to create a new language for them,” says Pamela Edmonds, Bounty’s curator.
Chazunguza returned to Zimbabwe in 1994, after seven years in Bulgaria. There, he combined his European training with his cultural roots, and began using vivid colours and everyday material to create works inspired by the social and political systems around him.
“It’s a continuous struggle,” says Chazunguza. “I can function within the parameters of my training and probably have no problems, but I can also decide to say, ‘I would like to function like me. I would like to function like Chiko, who was born in Zimbabwe, who is African, who has certain traditions.’ ”
In Zimbabwe, Chazunguza became involved in the local art community. “He actually ran an artist-run centre,” says Laura Margita, director of Gallery 101. “It was fairly politically active and that got him in a lot of trouble.”
Chazunguza’s work drew criticism from local politicians, which eventually prompted his move to Canada. “When certain spaces do not offer you enough space to express yourself – even if it’s home – at times, you have to move on to another place,” he says.
Bounty is a record of Chazunguza’s reactions to the differences between here and there. The exhibit was inspired by the idea of waiting in line, an experience he describes as both universal and completely different around the world.
When he came to Canada, Chazunguza says, he was struck by the abundance of options in grocery stores. Though the action was the same, waiting in line at the local Metro was a very different experience from waiting in line for a loaf of bread in Harare.
“I started documenting those things that I would say ‘wow’ to, things that would be in contrast to the situation I’d seen in Zimbabwe,” says Chazunguza. “My photographic work is all about things that are in multiples.”
These photos have been turned into over a thousand stickers that exhibit visitors can plaster around the gallery and the city. “We decided that those photos should become stickers because of how ubiquitous stickers are,” says Margita. “We thought that would be a really cool way to disseminate those photos.”
The performance installation is also about abundance, and was inspired by a Zimbabwean expression, says Chazunguza. “When we want to say somebody is ‘sitting pretty,’ we say they are ‘sitting in cornmeal.’ I play around with that. I make that a literal translation where I actually sit in cornmeal and I find people to sit in the cornmeal with me.”