CONTEMPORARY artist Gideon Gomo, who specialises in conceptual, abstract and figurative pieces yesterday opened the Nhungo exhibition that portrays the challenges men face as they seek to keep their families intact at the Village Unhu Gallery in Harare.
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
The exhibition’s title references the four main poles that are used when constructing the main cone of a traditional round kitchen and it also represents the pressure surrounding the furnace of the hut.
“In this exhibition, my main idea is to represent the structure of a family and the pressure that it faces. It also highlights the challenges and emotional stresses and struggles that are faced by men as they try to keep their family together,” he said.
“In Shona culture, the round kitchen is the heart of the home. In many important ways the round kitchen is the co-operation of tomorrow. It represents tomorrow through how it fosters new relations and untimely relations.”
Apart from the customary appreciation and understanding of the round kitchen hut, Gomo expanded the concept to capture balance, identity and stability, which he said was represented by the four main pillars of the hut.
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“The exhibition features a connecting umbilical code that stretches into the interior of the gallery to represent the fragments of the necessity of being anchored,” he said.
Gomo manipulates stones, wood, steel and other objects to create works that are psychologically charged yet effortlessly expressive.
His diverse portfolio demonstrates an intuitive understanding of materials and techniques culminating in a body of work that interweaves multiple emotions.