All Our Ancestors, residency and commission in Zimbabwe
July 13, 2014
In August 2014 I will be heading to Africa for three week artist residency and collaborative exhibition at the First Floor Gallery Harare with Zimbabwean contemporary artist Moffat Takadiwa. Assisted by sculptor Terrence Musekiwa and others.
Conceived and curated by Valerie Kabov, director of First Floor Gallery Harare, Zimbabwe.
Supported by the Arts Council England Artists International Development Fund
All Our Ancestors is intended to mesh spiritual and humanistic values of two cultures, which share a colonial and a religious past. An aim of the proposal is to look at ways of rehabilitating Zimbabwean tradition from the stigma of Christianisation enabling establishment of a peer-based dialogue and relationship on the basis of shared monotheistic worldview, spiritual plurality and traditions acknowledged and validated through art.
“The sacred is to unify, to be in a state of unity with the mystery of being, it is a universal human experience and this sculpture reflects on this shared spirituality and common ancestry of all people.” as psychologist Monia Brizzi stated in response to this project.
http://simeon-nelson.com/index.php/all-our-ancestors/
Photo: Marcus Gora, Valerie Kabov, directors of First Floor Gallery in London for the 2014 African Art Fair, Somerset House with myself, Monia Brizzi, Stephen Goldsmith and Eugene Ulman.