An artist like Godwell Mkandhla has always functioned in his society as the recorder of mores and experience of his society and as the voice and vision in his own time. Visual art like oral art is a vehicle of imparting the values and cultural personalities of the society. Mkandhla like any other artists is talented in painting, stone sculptor and weaving.
In an interview conducted with Caven Masuku, Mkandhla said that he was born in Zvishavane in 1979. He did his primary education in Bulawayo and secondary education in Hwange secondary school. He was later trained in visual arts at Surprise Centre a place situated 20km away from Gweru along Shurugwi road.
Mkandhla said that visual art is all about feelings and giving a sight of objects around. Visual artists teach people through artistic works like painting to honour their culture . Painting is one medium and means of communications that was used by the Bushman and the Mesopotamia to communicate to the society.
Visual art as a genre in arts like oral and written literature cultivate good culture to the community. Visual arts through drawings remind people of their past, their learned ways of living, behaviour and attitudes. “Through my paintings i reflect harmony within the community and preserve the culture of my people', said Mkandhla.
He added that Visual art unlike oral and written literal works of arts uses the voice and words to disseminate information related to social, cultural, economic and political issues within the community. Visual art on the other hand is silence and is loaded with meaning that can be determined by the viewers cultural background that sometimes can be different to the intended intention by the artist.
Visual artist assist people to learn about their traits using the animals, birds, trees and natural vegetation surrounding them through attaching meaning to it. It needs talented artists like Mkandhla to apply his visual artistic talent to remind people and educate them about their learned ways of living.
Economically, visual arts assist in drawing the attention of the foreigners , who can bring forex through buying artistic artefacts and improve the financial well-being of the country. Again artist can earn a living like formal employed workers and can create employment to the youths, said Mkandhla.
In responding to the current problems faced by Gweru artists, Mkandhla indicated that many artists in Midlands ,Gweru faces financial constraints which contribute negatively to the standard of their products.
Furthermore, Gweru unlike Harare , Bulawayo and Mutare has no art gallery to show case and sell their artefacts. “As artists in Midlands, Gweru we have tried to talk to the Military Museum so that they can allow us to display our products for exhibition”, said Mkandhla.
Mkandhla so far has produced more visual art products which among include his 2005 painting entitled “Spirit Blood”. This painting reflect the ills of road accidents and was triggered by the accident that happen along Shurugwi road in 2005, that spilled blood. Un-timed death is painful and causes many people to die young and with brilliant ideas, he said.
Stop violence is another visual arts product that was produced by Mkandhla in 2005 and remind parents that domestic violence is not health for their children. This art products condemns violence that affect the performance of the school going children who witness the fight between their parents on daily basis.
In 2006, Mkandhla produced the “bushman paintings”, a product that was produced through the mixture of soil with paintings. Such paintings that sometimes can be done on stones as a medium benefit society to learn history much better than written words that can be subject to bias.
Mkandhla told Masuku that so far he has only exhibited in Gweru Agricultural Show for 2009. In this show a new visual artefacts called “Sad faces” was displayed to educate people about the strange happenings that catches them by surprise. “As artists there are difficult times that we pass through that makes sad moments for us and this is what i was communicating to the society through my paintings', said Mkandhla.
The talented artist Mkandhla advise other artist to be perseverance, persistent and hard working. Artists should take time and not rush things and admire people like Dominic Benhure and Gutsa who came a long way and have laid a good example to all artist in Zimbabwe, he said.
The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, Provincial Arts Manager, Abigal Sivanda said Mkandhla as a visual artist in Gweru has a modern tendencies and his work has not been exposed. Sivanda said that, “Mkandhla once visited Bulawayo Arts Gallery for assistance in his artefacts but did not get the help he needed at that time”. She promised that for the next four weeks as the new administration in Gweru, they will organise an exhibition to enable the business community to meet with local artist. She said that as a marketing strategy this will promote Gweru artists and enable them to sell their arts products to the local business people.
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