Under my skin by Portia Zvavahera in collaboration with top visual artistsin Food for thought
As a young female artist Portia Zvavahera has successfully emerged as one of Zimbabwe’s budding female artists. Her positive outlook on life has been commendable in the development of the visual arts in Zimbabwe. Portia attained art education at institutions such as the National Gallery of Zimbabwe Visual Arts School, Harare Polytechnic and secured a place as a resident artist at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe and at Greatmore Studios in Cape Town in 2009.

This exhibition unlocks the door to other exhibitions as it is the first to be held at the Gallery in 2010. As a young artist Portia Zvavahera’s art is inspired by her dreams. The theme ‘Under my skin’ is a brain child of her dreams and she illustrates these through her art. On display will be print works that also interpret attitudes of happiness, sorrow, love or hate.

As a gifted artist she believes that people see their future through dreams. In her print work titled ‘Walking Away’ it was inspired after she had a horrific dream but could only remember seeing a figure walking away. Most of Portia’s dreams are linked to our traditional beliefs that are today regarded as superstitious. Dreaming of a dog is considered as either a sign of protection or danger. This is illustrated in her print work titled ‘Kuchengetwa/Kurwiswa that demonstrates a vision of a dog. As a result her works are a product of what stems from ‘under her skin’.

Equipped with several awards such as Enriching Woman and Post Selection Competition winner from Gallery Delta and a participator in several exhibitions, Portia has become an artist of excellence. To complement ‘Under my skin’ exhibition, seven other artists will exhibit on the same day but with a different theme titled ‘Food for thought’. The artists include Virginia Chihota, Misheck Masamvu, Patrick Makumbe, Masimba Hwati, Gareth Nyandoro, Mercy Moyo and Munyaradzi Mazarire. The seven artists’ position in this show is to stand in as art revolutionaries whose aim is to give the face of art a new meaning. On show will be different pieces of each artist’s works that consist of paintings, textiles and drawings.

The works provide a refreshing dose of silk screen and card print works that reflect on the visions of one’s life. In most cases prints that are in much darker tones are used to represent sadness and horrific moments whereas bright colours symbolize optimism and joy. It is with great pleasure that the National Gallery takes this opportunity to yet again give a young artist the platform to be recognized.