With their careful repetition and telling titles, Wallen Mapondera’s works are a merger of art and protest. His meticulous use of unorthodox materials evidences a strong political imperative informing his practice. He received art training from the National Gallery of Zimbabwe School of Visual Arts and Design, from 2005 to 2007. Recent solo exhibitions include Tsananguro / Clarifications at SMAC Gallery, Cape Town (2017). In 2016 he was a recipient of The African Centre’s Artist-in-Residency Award Laureate, and subsequently took up residency at the Kuona Trust in Nairobi, Kenya. The residency concluded with his solo presentation, Paint My Tea Pot, at the Tafaria Castle in Kenya.

In 2015 he was the recipient of Zimbabwe’s prestigious National Arts Merit Award – in the Visual Arts two-dimensional work category – granted by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe in recognition of outstanding achievement in arts and culture. Mapondera’s work is in numerous private collections including the Spier Art Collection in South Africa.