Nicodim Gallery is pleased to present Moffat Takadiwa’s (b. 1983, Karol, Zimbabwe) first solo exhibition in the United States. Takadiwa reassesses his own Korekore craft culture through the appropriation of garbage from the West, elevating found objects into sculptural forms that engage with issues of cultural identity, language, social practice, and the environment. All of his artworks are composed from the discarded remains of consumer waste, woven together in the language of traditional Zimbabwean textiles. Macrobiotic in his approach to material, his repurposed objects tell stories of each piece’s past lives to viewers brave enough to confront their own ecological and colonial legacies.
Moffat Takadiwa lives and works in Harare, Zimbabwe in the neighborhood of Mbare, one of the biggest hotspots for the recycling and repurposing microeconomy in the country. For years, Takadiwa has been utilizing his practice with a focus on rehabilitating his community, promoting an urban development project with the goal of establishing a community-oriented arts district. Working with local upcoming young artists and young creatives, Takadiwa aims to create the world’s first arts district made of reused and repurposed materials. Takadiwa graduated with a BA Honours from Harare Polytechnic College, Zimbabwe in 2008. Part of the post-independence generation of artists in Zimbabwe, Takadiwa has exhibited extensively across major institutions in Zimbabwe as well as internationally. Recent exhibitions include Stormy Weather, Museum Arnhem, The Netherlands (2019); Second Hand, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai (2019); KUBATANA, Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Oslo (2019); Ex Africa – storie e identità di un’arte universale, Museo Civico Archeologico, Bologna (2019); The Eye Sees Not Itself, Nicodim Gallery, Los Angeles (2018); De Nature en Sculpture, Villa Datris Foundation, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France (2017); and Say Hello to English, Tyburn Gallery, London (2017, solo).
