An innovative partnership in Harare births a Food and Art Menu!!
My collection of Palm, People and Baobab paintings finds a home on the walls of UpState restaurant as an inaugural exhibition, supported by Bongai Zamchiya, Harare entrepreneur par excellence, with more Zimbabwean artists set to follow as my exhibition ends in December 2026.
Curated by my MUA daughter Kelli Barker, the exhibition is a joyful collaboration with all of the Upstate Team…with masterful PR and media by King Charmaine…
Paintings such as these are on display…. “Palm Dance Triptych 1, 2 and 3”, acrylic and fabric collage on stretched canvas, each painting in the triptych is 91 x 61 cm….
Palm Dance Triptych 1, 2 and 3, acrylic and fabric collage on stretched canvas, each painting in the triptych is 91 x 61 cm seen here in work as I dance with my brush, my mutsvairo…
We open with a small gathering of food and art lovers, an evening of art, delectable snacks, fine dining and music by cellist and violinist Thembani.
Inspired by my dance sketches that I create from observing dancers such as those at Afrikera Trusts events, I envisage bodies and baobabs combined, dancing together on my canvas…
I am inspired by storytelling and I have always been entranced by Daphne, a figure in Greek mythology, who was in various retellings a mortal woman or a nymph, daughter of a river god. The god Apollo fell in love with Daphne and chased her against her wishes, but before he caught her, Daphne prayed for escape, and was transformed into a laurel tree. Thenceforth Apollo developed a special reverence for laurel.
In a twist on this tale, my triptych of paintings will portray African maidens with limbs inextricably linked in a dance with baobabs….
Storytelling embracing culture and environment.
These three large paintings take shape, are stretched by friend Batsirai Muskwe, and become a centerpiece for the exhibition…
Baobab Dance, Triptych, acrylic and oil pastel on stretched Zimbabwean cotton, each painting being 154 x 149 cm.
Upstate opening – my Baobab Dance paintings looked on as Thembani played her violin and cello for us…..
An intimate evening of art, conversation, canapés and signature cocktails as we celebrated the beginning of a special collaboration.
Chef Nomsa masterfully created baobab cheesecake morsels…
The signature Baobab Cheesecake recipe (that I originally got from Dr. Sarah Venter when we conducted a baobab flower pollinator research event at Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge a few years ago..,.) starred as a sweet morsel for delighted guest, and each guest received a baobab pod, muuyu baobab powder from Mahenye Village, and a printed recipe to carry home.
Palm monoprints and gorgeous , what a welcome at UpState reception …
Chef Nomsa gets painted by Kelli Barker, MUA, as Mimosa Baobab cocktails are served, with a backdrop of my painting…
Friends and supporters flow through………
The restaurant ambience entices, so come sit, meet friends, sip slowly, try a signature UpState steak…..
Artist statement:
Believing in the power of art to express the wonder of natural forms, to link people with nature, to portray ecosystems, I believe that the essence of a landscape, person or animal can only truly be captured by direct observation, and drawing. That enquiring gaze can then grow into a meaningful expression or abstraction, whether as painting, written word/poetry, art assemblage or fashion installation. Living partly in the city and partly in the wilds, I immerse myself in my surroundings, in the people and the environment surrounding me. My painting inspires my writing, my poetry, and my poetry inspires my painting. My love of the natural world, my respect for diverse ecosystems connected with human cultures, my sense of community, leads to my mantra, #all things connected and #artforimpact! Dance music and rhythm are intrinsic to my art practice, transcending real or imagined boundaries and reflected in the Rhythm of Life all around us, wherever and whoever we are. Ubuntu. For this exhibition titled “Palms, People and Baobabs…an art dance, a life dance…”, the indigenous palms, baobabs and people of Africa inspire me. Living in the lowveld of Zimbabwe on the banks of the Save river, I am surrounded by Baobabs, Phoenix reclinata and Hypheane palms. I observe. I write. I draw. I paint. My art tools are a treasured old palette knife inherited from my father, my fingers and various found objects used as pens and brushes to create expressive marks – objects such as twigs collected underneath baobab trees, old credit cards, bird eathers, plastic waste, lala palm fronds which have been chewed by elephants, or larger ‘brushes’ made from palm fronds such as my traditional village broom (mutsvairo/svielo). I also use whole palm fronds as stencils on my canvas! In this way, palms themselves have been used to create my palm, baobab and body paintings on canvas!
Nomsa, Charmaine, Tev, Tari, Zam, and the whole UPSTATE TEAM plus Kelli and Liesel, you went above and beyond to create a wonderful collaboration of food, hospitality, creativity and art, thank you ALL
