Feature: Zimbabwean artist uses art to promote COVID-19 preventative messages

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, April 30, 2021
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by Tafara Mugwara

HARARE, April 29 (Xinhua) -- With vaccine misinformation spreading like wildfire across some sections of society, a prominent Zimbabwean sculptor is countering vaccination hesitancy by carving COVID-19 preventative messages into stone.

David Ngwerume, a stone sculptor who is also a practicing attorney, uses simple tools to make pieces of art on mostly serpentine stone to express the everyday struggles of society.

His latest piece titled "Arms" stands out from his collection of COVID-19-inspired art.

The sculpture, made from black and white spring stone, features a half figure of a woman wearing a surgical mask presenting her shoulder to a pair of disembodied hands holding a syringe.

"The sculpture captures the moment and times that we are in, where the coronavirus pandemic has taken us to a stage whereby a vaccine has been found, and the vaccine is being perceived to be one of the preventative measures that shall sail us through," Ngwerume told Xinhua in an interview at his gallery.

The renowned sculptor said art is a reflection of perception in every society and has a vital role to play.

"Good art is the one that reflects the society, looks into the past, present and future, and it's contemporary and brings all that together to formulate messages that can be dissent and be communicated, and that can also relate with a society towards changing the world into the better," he said.

For centuries, art in its various forms has been used by successive civilizations in present-day Zimbabwe to express deep-rooted social issues.

Contemporary Zimbabwean stone sculpture traces its history to the medieval Great Zimbabwe Empire founded in the eleventh century, and from which Zimbabwe derived its name.

In modern times, stone sculpture continues to represent Zimbabwean artistic prowess globally, and contemporary artists such as Ngwerume are elevating the Zimbabwean art to another level.

Since the beginning of the year, Ngwerume has used the pandemic lockdown to focus on several other COVID-19 related themes.

Earlier this year, the talented artist unveiled a piece titled "The New Normal" which draws inspiration from the world's reality due to the pandemic.

The piece, which is made up of black granite, showcases a woman, carved in the shape of the African map, wearing a headscarf and a surgical mask.

Another piece titled "Mask up" is a figure of the late pop star Michael Jackson wearing a hat, a mask and gloves.

The COVID-19 themed artwork, which has attracted attention from all over the world, is part of a wider collection that he is currently working on and will be exhibited this coming July.

Ngwerume said vaccines present an opportunity for society to get back to normal. He expressed gratitude to China for making vaccines available to Zimbabwe.

"Now that the vaccination program has been rolled out, I recognize the role that China has played in donating vaccines to Zimbabwe, and I am hopeful that very soon we will return to normal life," he said.

Zimbabwe launched its vaccination campaign on Feb. 18 with Sinopharm vaccines from China. So far more than 380,000 people have been vaccinated.

The southern African country is aiming to achieve herd immunity by vaccinating two-thirds of its 14 million people by the end of the year. Enditem

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