Mercy Moyo (Zimbabwe, 1980-)
Portrait of Standing Figure
Mixed Media Collage
Assemblage collage with charcoal and paint.
Hand signed l.r. Mercy Moyo.
Dimensions: 49 1/2 x 35 1/4 in. Framed: 52 1/4 x 38 1/4 in.
Mercy Moyo is a nationally exhibited artist from Harare, Zimbabwe. Moyo’s creative journey is influenced by her childhood memories of time spent collecting barks from trees to use for dying fibers and mixing colors for weaving baskets with her grandmother. As they’d work, her grandmother would tell fairytales, inspiring Moyo to weave storytelling into her artwork.
Moyo uses visual art to tell the story of her life, of contemporary Southern African life. Her artwork depicts ordinary people in everyday environments, exploring human behavior and its context in expressive lines, vibrant colors, and traditional African motifs. Moyo's artistic practice lends its energy to her exploration of gender, coloniality, wealth disparities, political conflict, and resource allocation.
Moyo explores gender, identity, coloniality, wealth disparities and resource allocation. Although her endless search into human behavior and its context is energetically expressed in vibrant colors and traditional African motifs, her paintings also call into question the wide range of her experiences living and working in countries affected by harsh social and political conflicts
her use of iconic imagery of contemporary Zimbabwean women and children. This piece explores the role of women as a source of stability and the keeper of cultural inheritance. Her work interprets the beauty of real African women in traditional garments, long skirts, heads nicely wrapped, and humility in check.
Moyo studied at the Peter Birch School of Art and Design, graduated from the National Gallery School of Visual Arts and Design in 2003, and obtained a diploma in Photography from the ZIPAC (Zimbabwe Institute of Photographers) in 2010.
She was included in the exhibition Rwendo Rwechokwadi: A Journey of Truth
Christopher Moller Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa.
"Rwendo Rwechokwadi" brings together an exceptional group of artists whose works invite us to embark on a profound exploration of authenticity, resilience, and identity. This exhibition is more than a showcase of Zimbabwean art...
Category
2010s Charcoal Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media, Paint, Paper, Charcoal
