‘The child of a snake is a snake.’
Truth beyond consensus.
By Nyadzombe Nyampenza
The title for Tapfuma Gutsas’ solo show promises a sense of play. Damba nePwere sounds like a collection of repurposed, harmless, non-toxic objects. Accessing the concept behind the sculptures is no child’s play. Yet the viewer has to approach the work with the imagination of a child.
In Zimbabwe, Matamba is an abundant fruit with multiple uses. The gourds can be turned into percussion instruments such as Hosho and Magavhu. By his own terms Gutsa is not a carver of totems. His work is given to ideas in the better interest of the community. The master has deliberately chosen to communicate through a simple language of painted and varnished matamba shells.
A sculpture titled ‘DNA’ is composed from matamba of different sizes strung in gradient on a piece of wire. The title finds its suggestion from the objects’ winding shape and segments that can be compared to the structure of DNA.
The twisted form of ‘DNA’ can trigger primal instincts to give the impression of a snake. At the tapered end the shells are delightfully colored, like the iridescent scales of a python. In modern day Zimbabwe snakes are largely associated with evil and witchcraft. ‘Usatambe nenyoka / Do not play with a snake’ is a popular saying and advice.
The Shona proverb ‘’Mwana wenyoka inyoka”emphasizes biological fact. It declares that the ‘child of a snake is a snake’. Gutsas’ ominous piece with its reference to genetics, curiously affirms this notion.
