There is an old adage that says "a picture is worth a thousand words," a 100 year old statement that never seems to go stale. This is the expectation when a world famous photographer puts an exhibition of their career defining works. From the first print, right to the last, the images on show should have a quality of distinction.
Walking into Tamary Kudita's Threads Of Heritage exhibition at the Loft3 Gallery in Harare, this was the feeling. True to it's name, the showcase strongly evoked thoughts of the past, while also putting forward a challenge for the imagination. A showcase of the historical with a plot twist that posed the question; "What if?"
Threads Of Heritage has a challenge to colonial narratives at the heart of it. Something that has long been a facet of Kudita's work. In particular, the exhibition challenges the narrative that Africa needed to have civilisation brought to it by force.
There is a constant contrast of 19th century fashion, with traditional indigenous utensils such as mitsvairo (sweeping brooms) and migoti (cooking sticks). The implied message being a society that doesn't have the same representation as others is not one necessarily lacking in civility, and this presents an alternate past were we would have been beneficiaries of cultural exchange and not subjugation.
In fashion and scenery, Kudita's images have a palette that is rich yet somehow still subdued. She makes brilliant use of silhouettes, and even when the feeling isn't that a particular picture is beautiful, there's still so much to notice. Kudita offers up variety under a universal theme, and sometimes you aren't search for the thousand word story the image tells because it's simply beautiful.
Threads Of Heritage is both a showcase of Kudita's photographical heritage from years of work and our own heritage. It makes stop and stare, with possibilities that stand in defiance of a history that has been narrated by others, a Zimbabwean perspective on the Zimbabwean story of 100s of years ago.
Enjoyed reading this news report? Support Greedysouth by buying the team a cup of coffee. Your support assists in the production of such quality reports. Thank you.