A man is sleeping in a room and you have the sense of being there, a voyeur hiding under a table watching him.
This is what is depicted in ‘The Sleeping Man,’ a painting at an exhibition by Cosmos Shiridzinomwa, which was held in Harare recently.
The exhibition was themed ‘The Beginnings’ and consisted of more than forty big and small paintings that the artist had obviously poured heart and soul into.
The painting in question showed a man sleeping in a room that only had a bed, a few chairs and jackets hanging from a clothes line. The artist’s viewpoint was from underneath the table.
The painting begs a few questions, but mainly; ‘Why was the artist hiding under the table? What is he trying to convey? Is this a commentary on the state of Zimbabwean affairs?’
Walking around the gallery and reading the paintings, one cannot help but wonder about the vivid use of colour and vigorous brush strokes. I found myself consumed, appreciating the content and subject matter of the paintings.
At the very beginning, upon entering the gallery, one is greeted by a huge canvas that has images of a massive whirlwind. This is one image of a perfect and natural environment without the corruption of concrete constructions.
Asked about the meaning of the theme ‘The Beginnings’, Shiridzinomwa said “The work points out the various issues that are beginning to sprout or to progress in our environment.”
The body of work was produced over a period of 8 months and has social and political themes.
On his painting style, the artist said, “I love working with colour and the paintings are vibrant so that they quickly attract an audience’s eye.”
Responding to what pushes him to continue creating work in an environment where art sales are declining, Shiridzinomwa said, “Painting is what I do whether I am selling or not. The desire to put on record the happenings and also to send out messages pushes me to create these works.”
Shiridzinomwa started exhibiting in 1994 at the same gallery and has also exhibited his work in South Africa, Germany and Holland.
The exhibition ran for a month and ended on November 6, 2015 at Gallery Delta.
