Moffat Takadiwa

Exhibitions

Biography

Moffat Takadiwa was born in 1983 in Karoi, Zimbabwe and currently lives and works in Harare.

He graduated with a BA Honors from Harare Polytechnic College, Zimbabwe in 2008.

Takadiwa creates large-scale sculptural pieces from ordinarily discarded materials, including everything from computer waste, aerosol cans and spray bottles, to toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes. He weaves together these small everyday objects to make impressive organic forms evocative of jewel-encrusted excess or a ritualistic kind of minimalism. The artist’s choice of materials communicates his concern with issues around consumerism, inequality, post-colonialism and the environment.

Part of the post-independence generation of artists in Zimbabwe, Takadiwa has exhibited extensively across major institutions in Zimbabwe as well as internationally.

Recent solo presentations include Framed in Colonial Lenses, Raw Spot Gallery, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa (2018); Say Hello to English, Tyburn Gallery, London (2017); Foreign Objects, Tyburn Gallery, London, UK (2015); Foreign Bodies, Whatiftheworld, Cape Town, South Africa (2016); Local Foreign Products at Gallery Special Projects, FNB Joburg Art Fair, Johannesburg, South Africa (2015); Africa Not Reachable! at First Floor Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe (2012).

Selected group exhibitions include Ex Africa – storie e identità di un’arte universale, Museo Civico Archeologico, Bologna, Italy (2019); KUBATANA: An Exhibition with Contemporary African Artists, Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Oslo, Norway (2019); Material Insanity, Musée d’Art Contemporain Africain Al Maaden (MACAAL), Marrakech, Morocco (2019); Language is the Only Homeland, Nest, The Hague, Netherlands (2018); The Eye Sees Not Itself, Nicodim Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA (2018); Right at the Equator, Depart Foundation, Malibu, CA, USA (2018); On being alone and unbearable loneliness, Watou Art Festival, Belgium (2017); Chinafrika, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig, Germany (2017); De Nature en Sculpture, Villa Datris Foundation, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France (2017); Le jour qui vient, curated by Marie-Ann Yemsi, Galerie des Galeries, Galeries Lafayette, Paris (2017); Dear Europa…, Whatiftheworld, Cape Town (2016); When Tomorrow Comes, Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg and Michaelis Galleries, Cape Town (2016); Broken English,Tyburn Gallery, London (2015); UNcertain Terms, Whatiftheworld, Cape Town (2014); Warp & Woof, The Hole, New York, USA (2014); and National Gallery of Zimbabwe Annual Show, Harare, Zimbabwe (2014).

The artist’s work forms part of international collections including Art Jameel, United Arab Emirates; Foundation de 11 Lijnen, Belgium; Shanti Art Collection; Villa Datris Foundation, France; Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art (SAFFCA), France and South Africa; and Fondazione Golinelli, Italy.

Education

2008

BA Honors Fine Art, Harare Polytechnic College, Zimbabwe.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2018

Framed in Colonial Lenses, Raw Spot Gallery, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.

2017

Say Hello to English, Tyburn Gallery, London, UK.

2016

Across Borders, Whatiftheworld, Cape Town, South Africa.

2015

Foreign Objects, Tyburn Gallery, London, UK.

Local Foreign Products, Gallery Special Projects, FNB Joburg Art Fair, Johannesburg, South Africa.

2012

Africa Not Reachable! First Floor Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Selected Group Exhibitions

2019

Ex Africa – storie e identità di un’arte universale, Museo Civico Archeologico, Bologna, Italy.

KUBATANA: An Exhibition with Contemporary African Artists, Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Oslo, Norway.

Material Insanity, Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL), Marrakech, Morocco.

2018

Language is the Only Homeland, Nest, The Hague, Netherlands.

The Eye Sees Not Itself, Nicodim Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Right at the Equator, Depart Foundation, Malibu, CA, USA.

2017

On being alone and unbearable loneliness, Watou Art Festival, Belgium.

Chinafrika Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig, Germany.

Chinafrika Kunstfest Weimar, Germany.

De Nature en Sculpture, Villa Datris Foundation, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France.

Le jour qui vient, curated by Marie-Ann Yemsi, Galerie des Galeries, Galeries Lafayette, Paris, France.

Collector’s Stage, curated by Enin Supriyanto, Art Stage Singapore, Singapore.

2016

Dear Europa…, Whatiftheworld, Cape Town, South Africa.

When Tomorrow Comes, Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa, and Michaelis Galleries, Cape Town, South Africa.

2015

Broken English, Tyburn Gallery, London, UK.

Foreign Bodies, Whatiftheworld, Cape Town, South Africa.

2014

Uncertain Terms, Whatiftheworld Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.

SCINTILLA: An Alchemy Show, Commune 1, Cape Town, South Africa.

Project, 1:54 2nd edition African Art Fair London. UK.

BATIK d'AFRIQUE, Ethan Cohen Gallery, New York, USA.

Warp & Woof, The Hole, New York, USA.

Meet the artist project, Chinembiri studio, Harare, Zimbabwe.

2013

Project 1:54, African Art Fair London, UK.

Good News exhibition, New University, Lisbon, Portugal.

No Limits, HIFA, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Chiso, First Floor Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe.

2012

Harare Haarare!, First Floor Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Inexactly This, Kunstvlaai Festival of Independence, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Wars/Karas, Octopus Projects, Riga, Latvia.

Jo’burg Fringe, Johannesburg, South Africa.

A Tale of Two Cities, National Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Family, Tradition and Religion, Gallery Delta, Zimbabwe.

2011

Still Life Exhibition, Delta Gallery, Zimbabwe.

Harare beyond Words, Gallery H, Bangkok, Thailand.

Mbare Kutapira, First Floor Gallery, Chinembiri Studios, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Harare Paris, Pavé d’Orsay, Paris, France.

Harare International Festival of Art Exhibition, National Gallery, Zimbabwe.

Rangu Izwi, First Floor Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Austral><Affric, First Floor Gallery, The Basement, Harare, Zimbabwe.

2010

First Steps, First Floor Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Facet Zimbabwe Now, Delta Gallery, Zimbabwe.

Avignon University, Avignon, France.

Live and Direct, National Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Young Artist Exhibition, Gallery Delta, Harare, Zimbabwe.

2009

Peace through Unity in Diversity, Gallery Delta, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Walls, Berlin Wall, Gallery Delta, Harare, Zimbabwe.

2008

Cottco, National Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Enriching Woman, Gallery Delta, Harare, Zimbabwe.

2007

Young Artist Exhibition, Gallery Delta, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Publications

2011

Hecker, Judith (ed.), Impressions from South Africa, 1965 to Now: Prints from the Museum of Modern Art, Museum Of Modern Art, NYC, 2011.

Residencies

2018

RAW Residency of Artists and Writers, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.

2017

The Gathering, Kenya.

Biography & Press

2019

Schwendener, Martha, At the Armory Show, Solo Exhibitions and Colossal Displays, nytimes.com, 6 March 2019.

2017

Obuobi, Sharon, In Studio with Moffat Takadiwa, medium.com, 14 June 2017.

---, contemporaryand.com, 27 February 2017.

Schulz, Anke, Moffat Takadiwa: Exploring Zimbabwe’s Colonial Past Through Language, artversed.com, 8 April 2017.

10 Outstanding Solo Exhibitions to Experience in London in April, huffingtonpost.com, 7 April 2017.

Mba, Adora, Moffat Takadiwa: the shy guy whose art speaks volumes, trueafrica.co, 31 March 2017.

Wrathall, Claire, Artists in Focus: Moffat Takadiwa, Christie’s Magazine, April 2017 Issue, pp. 44-45.

Gilhooly, Emma, Moffat Takadiwa: The Zimbabwe artist protests against the colonial education system with his solo show, Say Hello To English, nataal.com, March 2017.

Enwonwu, Oliver, In Conversation With Moffat Takadiwa, omenkaonline.com, 13 February 2017.

Ojo, Tobi, 10 African Artists to Keep on Your Radar, agbara.us, 30 January 2017.

2016

Twigg, Melissa, Can contemporary art help mend the relationship between China and Africa? scmp.com, 1st July 2016.

Walton, Millie, Inner sanctum, a magazine, February - April 2016.

Forrest, Tim, Foreign Objects, tfeanda.com, 07th January 2016.

Schumann, Megan, Deco Diary: Two Must-See Exhibitions In January, elledecoration.co.za, 04 January 2016.

Crow, Kelly, The New Face of African Art, WSJ.com, 12th May 2016.

2015

Brination, Irene, Tales of a Spiritual Garbage Man: Spotlight on Moffat Takadiwa, irenebrination.typepad.com, 14th October 2015.

Glyn-Jones, Gordon, ART ALERT: 5 Southern African art destinations this week, thesouthafrican.com, 04th November 2015.

Hegert, Natalie, Citing Decolonial Theory, Moffat Takadiwa Transforms Debris into Art, artslant.com, November 2015.

O’Toole, Sean, 10 Young African Artists You Should Know, artsy.net, 31st August 2015.

Zhou, Justice, Zimbabwean Artists Seek To Leave A Mark At South African Fair, newsofthesouth.com, 01st March 2015.

——, Moffat Takadiwa, Foreign Objects, aestheticamagazine.com, 20th December 2015.

—-, National Identity and the Language of Bodies: A Group Show at Whatiftheworld, 10and5.com, 10th December 2015.

—-, Dalla spazzatura alla scultura, LaStampa.it, 20th November 2015.

—-, Team Pelham interviews Moffat Takadiwa, blog.pelhamcommunications.com, 18th November 2015.

—-, Diaspora Art Diaries: Moffat Takadiwa, zimbojam.com, 09th November 2015.

-—, Moffat Takadiwa, timeout.com, November 2015.

----, Moffat Takadiwa: Foreign Objects, WSIMag.com, 30th October 2015.

——, Artist Moffat Takadiwa Transforms Found Consumer Waste into Intricate Sculptural Forms, junk-culture.com, 21 October 2015.

2014

Devereux, Robert, My Highlights from 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair 2014, artsy.net, 06th October 2014.

Gregory, Hannah, From Kadar Brock to Penny Lamb, 14 Artists Find Creativity In Destruction, artsy.net, 22nd October 2014.

Kinsman, Houghton, Rethinking institutional approaches to emerging artistic practice in Zimbabwe, anotherafrica.net, 03rd October 2014.

——, Moffat Takadiwa, africanah.org, 26th September 2014.

2013

Sibanda, Nkosilathi, Voices in Colour empower city artists, chronicle.co.zw, 07 December 2013.

2011

Davidzon, Vladislav, Paris-Harare: Focus on Inner Vision, artcritical.com, 15th August 2011.

2018

Ticha Muvhuti, Barnabas, Takadiwa’s mission is to change the world through his unique art, businesslive.com, 4 October 2018

Awards

2012

Award of Attendance, Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, Harare, Zimbabwe.

2010

Award of Merit, Peace Through Unity Exhibition, Gallery Delta, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Special Mention Prize, Facet Zimbabwe Now Exhibition, Delta Gallery, Zimbabwe.

2009

2nd Prize Walls, Special Mentions, Peace Through Unity Exhibition Delta, Harare, Zimbabwe.

2008

2016Award of Merit, Cottco Exhibition and Prize, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Special Prize, Enriching Woman, Gallery Delta, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Collections

Art Jameel, United Arab Emirates.

Foundation de 11 Lijnen, Oudenburg, Belgium.

Shanti Art Collection.

Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art (SAFFCA), France and South Africa.

Villa Datris Foundation, France.

Fondazione Golinelli, Italy.