Kudzanai-Violet Hwami’s oil paintings design scenes belonging to a futuristic vision of African life, a fictional utopia filled with creativity and without borders. Her work is a celebration of Afro-punk, LGBTQ, and internet sub-cultures shot through with witty political commentary. Having lived in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the UK, she is able to articulate issues around diaspora, displacement and identity, forging universal narratives with an autobiographical touch. Her process involves experimentation with collaged images from diverse sources to create her own reference, from which she creates large-scale oil paintings, often incorporating other media such as pastel, charcoal or screen print. She often uses nudes as a point of departure, boldly bringing up questions of the black body and its representation, as well as sexuality, gender and spirituality.
Hwami’s work has recently been exhibited at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe and Fondation Clément in Martinique, and is included in both the Sindika Dokolo collection, Luanda and that of Fondation Blachère, Apt.