Beyond the laws of nature.
A spiritual perspective on ‘Systemic Necropolis’.
By Nyadzombe Nyampenza
Although a common domestic tool, mutsvairo is imbued with much superstition. To sweep it in a person’s direction gives them bad luck in love. To be struck with one is considered worse. Zanele Mutema’s installation Systemic Necropolis makes it rain mutsvairo!
The immersive installation employs syncretic religious symbols that convey power beyond the laws of nature. The work is an enclosed space in which recycled brooms are suspended from the ceiling. The brooms are bound with red string and wrapped with plastic.
Old mutsvairo are used in sacred rituals. They can be found among consecrated objects at shrines, altars, and crossroads. The artist’s use of red string also has spiritual significance. Red string is used to bind fetishes onto shrubs, and tree branches. Some fetishes are attached against crops to ward off thieves. Symbolic of blood, the scarlet thread represents mhiko — powerful pledges, vows and invocations. The process of binding can also be a symbolic act.
Usage of plastic deviates from common practice. Its properties are artificial. Plastic hinders the flow and conduct of energy. In this case it may provide insulation from dangerous occult powers. Its transparency enhances creative possibilities by making the brooms appear to levitate.
Women are immune to most taboos associated with the broom, per Zimbabwean customs. This is because they handle the household implement more often than men. Mutema exercises dominance over the material. Her meticulous work is invested with time and patience. Minute detail reveals dexterity, and intimacy.
Out of fear and respect people avoid trespassing on the sites of sacred rituals. Zanele’s work is enticing to the spectator. When the audience steps inside the installation, time stops, reality fades into a dream.
