{"id":592744,"date":"2026-04-08T05:07:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T05:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/592744\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T05:07:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T05:07:19","slug":"moffat-takadiwas-scrounged-sculptures-confront-africas-colonial-hangover-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/592744\/","title":{"rendered":"Moffat Takadiwa’s Scrounged Sculptures Confront Africa’s ‘Colonial Hangover’ \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Moffat Takadiwa<\/a> sees a pile of rubbish\u2014old technology parts, personal care items, clothing\u2014he doesn\u2019t just see a bunch of junk. The Harare, Zimbabwe-based artist has spent the better part of two decades collecting thousands upon thousands of pieces of plastic and metals foraged from landfills near the city\u2019s Mbare neighborhood, where heaps of electronic equipment waste, also known as e-waste<\/a>, ends up in illicit dump sites. In his studio, vast collections of colorful objects are meticulously sorted into collections.<\/p>\n

Takadiwa is known for his elaborate sculptures<\/a> made from what he describes as \u201ceveryday consumer residue\u201d\u2014discarded computer keyboard keys, toothbrush heads, plastic combs, buttons, and more. The colors, textures, and patina of wear and age produce patterns that it\u2019s tempting to describe as \u201corganic,\u201d even though the materials are the opposite.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Detail of \u201cMuchapihwa Korona\u201d <\/p>\n

The artist\u2019s current solo exhibition, The Crown! at Semiose<\/a>, highlights the tension not only between visual harmony, consumer culture, and waste but also those of what curator Fernanda Brenner describes in the exhibition essay as \u201cthe tensions of Africa\u2019s post-colonial afterlife.\u201d Takadiwa describes it as the \u201ccolonial hangover.\u201d For instance, afro combs appear throughout the show, \u201crooted in African traditions and the colonial self-fashioning they forced,\u201d Brenner says. \u201cOnce tools for grooming and ritual, these combs now bear the weight of resistance and pride in Black political life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Takadiwa\u2019s compositions drape, tapestry-like, with repetitive patterns and textures that alternate between softness and brittleness. From the distance, the details of unique components blur into a fabric-like substrate, but upon closer inspection, nail polish brushes, caps, and keyboard keys in various states of aged yellowing emerge as individual tributes to overconsumption and excess. \u201cThe result is beautiful, which is where the trouble begins,\u201d Brenner writes. She continues: <\/p>\n

If beauty could settle old scores, the art world would have solved more than it has\u2026Rearranging the materials does not erase their origins. If you have ever pressed \u2018delete\u2019 and believed the problem was gone, his work offers a quiet correction. Nothing disappears; it only travels, usually to places like Mbare, where Takadiwa opened his artist-run space in what used to be a colonial beer hall.<\/p>\n

The Crown! continues through May 16 in Paris. See more on the artist\u2019s Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>\u201cCombed Hair\u201d (2026), keyboard keys, buttons, plastic toothbrush heads, combs, and nail polish parts, 110 1\/4 x 61 inches<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>\u201cThe Crown (2)\u201d (2026), keyboard keys, plastic toothbrush heads, and nail polish parts, 72 1\/16 x 55 1\/2 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Detail of \u201cThe Crown (2)\u201d<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>\u201cPink Nails\u201d (2026), keyboard keys, plastic toothbrush heads, combs, and nail polish parts, 92 1\/2 x 59 13\/16 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Detail of \u201cPink Nails\u201d<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>\u201cThe Consumer Portrait\u201d (2026), keyboard keys, plastic toothbrush heads, combs, and nail polish parts, 59 1\/16 x 54 5\/16 inches<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>\u201cDaily Reflections\u201d (2026), keyboard keys, plastic toothbrush heads, combs, and nail polish parts, 70 7\/8 x 45 11\/16 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Detail of \u201cDaily Reflections\u201d<\/p>\n

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