Nhambo Dzinongosiinda

Nhambo Dzinongosiinda, translated “As time ticks along (we fail to identify anything that doesn’t eventually perish)” – words from a Shona liturgical hymn – is a visual meditation on the impermanence of all things. Inspired by the Shona proverb, “Zvibwezvitedza, zvinotedzera vari kure; asi vari padyo vachitamba nazvo”, this work explores the slippery nature of life.

The painting breathes with the same paradox held in the proverb: what is perilous to outsiders can be danced upon by those who belong. And yet, even for the familiar, time is the great leveller. Stones erode, rivers shift course, and even the most sacred must return to the soil. This is the essence of Nhambo Dzinongosiinda: a world where nothing is spared decay, but everything is held sacred in its passing.