INTERVIEW WITH MASIMBA HWATI CURATOR OF
Zimbabwean Story: A 7 Day Theory
With Rutendo Mtadzapasi

RM: WHAT WAS THE OBJECTIVE BEHIND THE SEVEN DAY THEORY?

MH: The idea was initially propounded by Niccolo Machivelli and identified with Tupac Shakur’s Seven Day Theory album.  The hypothesis behind all this was that people could fake their death several times and resurrect again, a technique which is used against your enemy. However, the Seven Days Theory is different from Niccolo Machivelli’s idea as it is based on biblical allusions where God worked for six days and rested on the seventh day. It is also an Intense Live Visual performance piece by Plasticien David Chinyama. So this exhibition is to recreate the story of Zimbabwe. Both David and I share the ideology that “..artists have a prophetic mandate of calling the things that are not as if they are.” We are trying to create the story of Zimbabwe as we see it at the active and subliminal levels. The reason for the isolation is to narrow down David’s focus and concentrate his energy on what he is doing.

The Zimbabwean Story, A 7 Days Theory can also be described as an interactive performance of visual interpretations in colour. In this thought provoking project the artist takes us through a journey into the struggles, personal experiences and challenges Zimbabweans have experienced and endured over the past decade. Chinyama relives this darkest period in our history in 7 days and nights. Working day and night in isolation, with no communication from the outside world and with a very limited sleeping time of less than two hours per day.  The artist interprets his own side of the Zimbabwean story that has always been misrepresented and foretold from a distance. Drawing inspiration from the socio-religious, political and economical changes and transformations that we have gone through as a nation, this exhibition takes us through this dramatic journey representing every Zimbabwean at home or in the diaspora today.

RM: HOW WAS THE PROCESS FOR DAVID?

MH: The artist was subjected to intense isolation in a space where there was very little or no actual communication with the outside world. The process was both excruciatingly painful and liberating, thus the balance between the two emotions is what the works are presenting. We were both looking for a cathartic and therapeutic process which David would represent the ordinary Zimbabwean, their hopes, dreams and aspirations. In my own words the process was a success, there were several challenges we learnt. I believe if David had stayed longer he would have produced something unpredictable into another pattern. He managed to tap into another resource which was his subconscious.

RM: WHAT DID DAVID DO DURING THESE SEVEN DAYS?

MH: During this period the artist painted, related and recreated the story of Zimbabwe in the past ten years making reference to history. He worked for six days and six nights and on the seventh day the works were hung for presentation which is what is seen in this space of the Gallery and this will be followed by an auction of the works. The twenty new works have been inspired by the artist’s desire to tell the real challenges Zimbabwe experienced and he believes that he is qualified to narrate the story as a visual poet and social commentator. David was re-enacting the extraordinarily extreme socio-economic, emotional and political conditions that the ordinary Zimbabwean has been subjected to for the past ten years. In the backdrop of extreme humanitarian conditions Chinyama managed to express his thoughts and feelings on canvass. Henceforth, he narrates, creates and recreates the ancestral, present and futuristic story of Zimbabwe. There will be a video monitor to all these processes which will be shown to the public everyday during working hours at the Gallery.