The Norval Sovereign African Art Prize 2023 Benefit Auction | Hosted by Sotheby’s

Wallen Mapondera

Muchengetedzi Werunyararo

Reserves

Lot Closed

January 31, 05:28 PM GMT

Estimate

7,000 - 9,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Wallen Mapondera

Zimbabwean

b.1985

Muchengetedzi Werunyararo

egg crates, china bag, waxed thread and teargas can on board

123 by 125 by 23cm., 48⅜ by 49¼ by 9in.

Executed 2022

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This work has been kindly donated by the artist

Wallen Mapondera is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe. He is best known for his complex wall sculptures that create richly tessellated abstract surfaces out of cardboard and textiles. By transforming them into textured visual puzzles, Mapondera rescues ordinary materials from their typical lifecycle (from factory to commodity to landfill). In this way, his works metaphorically challenge the linearity of time and history.

Muchengetedzi Werunyararo (2022) translates to “The Peace Keeper”. The empty tin of teargas used in the artwork was picked up by a seven-year-old boy who was sitting beside his mother in their vegetable market in Zimbabwe. In the work, the violent incident is represented through the cuttings of egg crates, small bumps of red cloth, lines of red string and fabric from a china bag. The china bags are reminiscent of the artist’s mother going to neighbouring countries like South Africa, Mozambique and Botswana to sell her goods. Ultimately, Mapondera aims to draw our attention to the crimes of exploitation, oppression and indifference that undergird even the most mundane objects.