With each N’anga or Spirit Medium that I photographed, I spent several hours, and during each seance different situations would arise. In this image the N’anga’s look is directed towards the light coming from the door : the exterior light in Zimbabwe is very intense, contrasting strongly with the dark interiors of the central living spaces. I liked the passage from one state to another, from exterior to interior, dark to light. Mutoko, NE Zimbabwe 2015
On every occasion photographing in these remote communities, people responded enthusiastically to the idea of taking photographs as a record of culture, aware as they frequently told us, that their culture as it was, would not survive into the future. A great debt of gratitude is owed to these individuals and communities, as without their participation, the images would not have been possible. You can support this important cultural document through ordering a copy here, and/or register your interest below, and we will be in touch!
For any questions, for bulk buying, or simply to inform us of your interest, use this form! Thank you.
Material from our publication will be developed into a text book format for Zimbabwean schools, in conjunction with the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, as a means of transmitting a legacy of culture to future generations of Zimbabweans. Any funds we generate over and above the production costs of this publication will go towards the text book publication with the National Gallery of Zimbabwe
ZIMBABWE: Art, Symbol & Meaning
The book brings to light how the historic cultures of sub-Saharan Africa evolved art and the symbol into a parallel language, the language of culture, ideology, and meaning.
A language evolved specifically to address the holistic questions such as who is the human being, and what is the nature of reality.
Africa’s answers to these questions are being revealed in science today, as science probes deeper into matter to discover there is no ultimate boundary between the living person and the unseen, meta-physical universe.
SIGNIFICANCE
Through images taken in the more remote communities of Zimbabwe’s Communal Lands, capturing art and the symbol as an active source of information concerning life itself.
Revealing an astonishing depth of symbolism reflecting from both ritual and functional objects, interiors, music, dance, fashion, and the art of social relationships.
Images captured in a window of time between 1998 and 2015, by the end of which it was increasingly difficult to find symbolic artefacts, the difficulties of survival forcing communities to abandon traditional lifestyles and to sell their cultural heirlooms.
A record and a visual story of culture as a living ideology, an holistic approach to meaning that is becoming increasingly relevant as we face the global consequences of our actions.
These are cultures which recognised the law of relationship as primary to life, a law which Africa expressed most powerfully in the language of the symbol.
N’anga or spirit medium with ceremonial staff and cloth, and accessories
Shona, central living space with ceramics which are a functioning symbol of the family