Found Objects artist Johnson Zuze creates an owl -zizi
Birds Flight Wings and Feathers-
I have submitted an assemblage draped canvas artwork to the national gallery of Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe Visual Arts Awards annual show, titled “A Kite with a Broken String has all the Sky”
With a play on words between the kite one flies as a child and the yellow billed kite, a raptor in our Zimbabwean skies.
Pikicha gallery curator Kuda and myself in front of my art assemblage at the National gallery of Zimbabwe
here is a detail…
More of my “flight” and bird theme art will be featured in a forthcoming exhibition this year, with works by myself, my daughter Kelli Barker, make up artist, and Johnson Zuze, found objects artist -taking place at Pikicha Gallery in Harare
meanwhile here are some fascinating oral tradition bird stories from Zimbabwe…
Lin Barrie
The Save Valley Conservancy stretches along the upper reaches of the great Save River in the south east of Zimbabwe. The Gonarezhou National Park laps against the southern banks of the Save River and between these two nestles the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve. These three celebrated wildlife areas form part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, (GLTFCA)- a unique wilderness jewel which is home to the “Big Five” (endangered Black and White rhinos, elephants, buffalo, lion, leopard) and the ”Little Six” (Klipspringer, Suni, Duiker, Steenbok, Sharpe's Grysbok and Oribi). Endangered African wild dogs, Cheetah, Brown hyena, Bat-eared foxes and a host of special birds and plants contribute to the immense variety of this ecosystem. Communities around the GLTFCA contribute to innovative partnerships with National Parks and the private sector, forming a sound base on which to manage social, economic and environmental issues.
This is home to artist and writer Lin Barrie and her life partner, conservationist Clive Stockil.
Expressing her hopes, fears and love for this special ecosystem with oil paints on canvas, Lin Barrie believes that the essence of a landscape, person or animal, can only truly be captured by direct observation.
Lin Barrie states: “Through my art, and my writing, I feel an intimate connection with the natural world, and from my extensive field sketches of wild animals, people and landscapes, I create larger works on canvas.
Lin's work is in various public and private collections in South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Australia, England, Canada, Sweden and the United States of America. She is represented by galleries in South Africa, Zimbabwe, England, Kenya and Florida, USA.