Blood on the dance floor.
Fallout and consequences.
By Nyadzombe Nyampenza
The title ‘Chef’ in Zimbabwe signals power, privilege and patronage. It is used to address those who command respect and fear. People related to the Chef also carry influence. Visual artist Epheas Maposa reveals the inevitable end to such exploits.
Dancing with the Chef is a dark painting where ghoulish and ghostly entities embrace in a morbid waltz. Contrasting colors enhance the drama. An outsize Coca Cola bottle cap provides a figurative background. The beverage with no utilitarian purpose is marketed as an elixir for joy and refreshment. Coca Cola is code for a bribe in Harare.
Although dancing is depicted literally, the title of the work seems pregnant with meaning. The word for dancing in chiShona is the same for playing, which also means to associate with. Dancing with the Chef can be a word play for consorting with the bigwig. A person with such access would be untouchable, and beyond reproach. They may flaunt rules that others have to abide. This creates disharmony. Things may not end well.
In the painting a man holds a woman by the waist. The woman holds a decapitated head, like the daughter of Herodias. Other people around the couple look broken, and wasted. A red circle in the middle looks like a pool of blood.
Maposa positions himself as a distant observer. Fallout and consequences unravel beyond his control. The audience is called to witness the catastrophe.
