Exhibition opens at the National Gallery on Thursday 11 October 2012

Continued progress...

Making progress...

The making of...continued

Hlezekaya's story...

My experience of motherly love...

There is nothing more moving and amazing than the knowledge that you have a mother who loves and cares for you. When I was younger, I took this love forgranted, but the older I have become, the more I come to realise how precious it is and how much security and reliance I place in it. 

A mother's love and especially my own mother's love has been a constant feature in my life, since I was a baby. She taught me how to speak, how to count and how to read and write. She also taught me important values such as hard work, honesty and respect. All of my achievements have been based on the foundation that she has built for me from a very tender age. 

My mother's love has been unconditional and she has forgiven me and continued to love me even when I have hurt or disappointed her...I love my mama very much.  

Tinashe's Story...

Simplicity. One learns to appreciate the simplest of things about ones own child. I learnt to appreciate the fact that my little princess has five little fingers on each hand that from one day were gripping my finger, are now the same ones learning to write. Her broad, innocent smile is enough to let the troubles of the day drift away. No matter how small her actions, I find significance and cherish each moment with her endearingly. 

Happiness. Her melodic laugh resonates in my mind and lets only the emotion of happiness encompass me. At the sight of the joy in her face, I know my role in her life is fulfilled as happiness radiates within her.

Anticipation. Every day I see how you look at me with anticipation that I will make you smile, make you laugh, feed you and fulfil your every whim. Why? Because in your world there is nothing a mother cannot do. The weight of the trust you place in me is barely felt as the weight I once felt when you were in the womb. 

Milestones. I still remember the first moment when my daughter first looked up at me with her big brown eyes and smiled. The highest level of joy brims up within me as I even remember when she first learnt to sit, stand, walk and run. The simplest of things we do as adults become the greatest events of our lives. The appearance of just one tooth, the utterance of just one word, is a milestone that resonates within any parent. My daughter is blessed as her great grandmother is alive and she enjoys talking endlessly to her. Two different generations somehow find common ground in conversation. I learn alot about my daughter when I listen to their conversations, as at just three years ten months, she talks about her observations and views. I also realise that she is aware that her grandmother is much older than her and frail, as from time to time she will hold her hand and slows down her pace when walking with her.

Impeccable.  My daughter is a perfectionist. Ever since she was just a toddler, she would tidy up and wipe any spillage she made or would request for assistance. She believes she has impeccable taste when it comes to clothes and casually changes into three different outfits a day as the weather changes. 

Sacrifice. This word barely describes the depth that one must forfeit ones needs and wants for the benefit of a growing being who is oblivious of all you do for their better good. However, the greatest reward is evident when one sees her level of deep and genuine appreciation.

Overall. By and large, all I do is for Shamiso, my daughter. She breathes energy into me to fulfil my goals in order for me to ignite hers one day. Shamiso is my all, my heart, my soul and everyday with her she teaches me simplicity, shows me true happiness, fills me with anticipation when I see her, lets every moment develop into a milestone, drives me to ensure everything is impeccable for her, to sacrifice selflessly, and that my overall role in life is to make the miracle of her life is felt by all who know her. I am a mother because of Shamiso.

Assah's Story

Memories of being a mother...I was filled with such joy for I had brought a life into the world. The labour pains were all forgotten. 

I am the Godmother of Tashinga and I have a few other God children. I have two children of my own. 

I had to get up during the night to feed the children and change nappies. Somehow I found the energy to do all that with very little help. God gave me the strength to do this labour of joy. 

A mother's job is never done even when the children are at school or at College. Once a mother, always a mother! It is a lifetime job! 

I had to cope with sleepless nights and sickness. I was there when they needed me as a nurse or a tutor. 

I was there when they needed someone to play with or when they needed a shoulder to cry on. 

My children are grown up, but I am still doing this labour of love for them and my grandchildren. This is a lifetime job, a labour of love. 

Continued preparations for the exhibition....October 2012

Eveline's Story...

I am a mother of three children. I have graduated from just being Mother to now being Grandmother.   

As a mother I loved communicating, doing things together with my babies and watch every step of their growth. Memories of their first cry, holding them in my arms, feeding, bathing, changing nappies, seeing their eye focus, hearing this first vocal sound are all so vivid in my memories. I loved to sit on the floor with them and build a cushion chair protection to help them sit up and in no time they would be on their stomachs taking the first move towards crawling. The furniture would be moved around to keep them ample space and in no time they are standing holding onto chairs and with a little help from mother’s hand the first baby steps are taken to free movement. 

I loved to teach them ball games, swimming, riding bicycles, play with plaster of paris and mould objects, scribble and draw on paper. I taught them to love the outdoors, appreciate nature and animals and I loved to see those eyes open up when they picked their first flower or pulled up weeds not to mention holding a puppy or kitten. I always had to do the bedroom inspection as you would always find the little pet has been smuggled into the bedroom.

I have always wanted to follow up the children in all their school activities, meet the teachers, volunteer where needed. I volunteered for sports tea duties and enabled me to watch the children at play and at the same time learn about the game rules.

What more can a mother ask for than to Thank Our Lord for guiding her children and their families.

Madelaine's Story...

Being a mother is one of the hardest jobs on earth, but it is certainly the most rewarding.

I was 35 years old when I had my first daughter. For me that was the perfect age as I felt I had studied, worked, travelled.

Pregnancy was a truly exquisite, miraculous and beautiful experience both times (yes with the normal ups and
downs that come with being pregnant – good and bad days). Being aware and feeling the growing embryo
within me highlighted the miracle of creation. Our God is an awesome God. Jeremiah 1vs5 “I knew you before I formed you (in your mother's womb). Before you were born I set you apart....”

During my first pregnancy my baby was very content and calm during the day, come evening the baby would start to move frantically making me aware of its presence as I tried to rest or sleep after a long day. For me that meant my baby was telling me I am still here mummy. From that point I knew when this child was born it would be a child that loved being in the company of others, a true socialite, friendly to all that looked her way. 3 years on, she is exactly like that!

I was fortunate enough to have had almost 12 months maternity leave, this enabled me to completely switch
off from work and immerse myself fully into motherhood. I was there for most of their “firsts” all very captivating and special moments. Any parent who experiences a first will cherish that memory forever. My
favourite first include:
1st smile (about 3-4 weeks old), 1st unaided sit with no cushions followed by the forward flop, hand clapping was always a major achievement for both mum and baby, 1st laugh (about 3months old) 1st crawl, 1st steps unaided – when I saw her let go of coffee table in my mother’s house and took about 4 steps (hands up in the air! Priceless) . Oh and those first words are always fun but I will always remember the 1 st sentence.

Since becoming a mum and watching my gems develop, I now have a desire to pass on my knowledge and
experience with other mums. Sharing with new mums fills me with happiness as I see a bond between mother
and baby being nurtured. I strongly believe in having lots of physical contact with your baby. The techniques I have used and still continue are very simple touching and gentle stroking, lots of kisses and cuddles, talking in parentese, massage of their little limbs and singing. All of these are part of our day to day routine.

Sheila's Story...

I was blessed to have three children comprising a boy, the first born, and two lovely girls. The birth of my first child was the best thing that ever happened to me as a young newly married woman. To be able to hold one’s bundle of joy was such a blessing, coupled with sleepless nights that fast became a normal way of life. The birth of my two girls was like putting the icing on the cake because I had always wanted to have both boys and girls. Two little girls and a boy running around in the yard made motherhood really worthwhile.

Motherhood taught me a lot of lessons that I would never have learnt had I not had children. The first one was sharing my love with all of them in equal portions. While I had given birth to my son as a working mother, I had my daughters as a university student, furthering my studies when they were both very young. This experience taught me to be organized, to learn to balance all my roles of being a wife, a mother and a student. It was not an easy task but it had to be done because I had made my choice.

Taking them to school was both a pleasure and a challenge because we had to co-ordinate our time to get ready and leave home together to be on time for school and work. The return journey was more stressful as I sometimes had to wait for each one to finish their extra-mural activities then head home. However, this was the best time for me to be told how each one’s day had gone, imagine three little people competing to be heard. It was quality time and I always looked forward to fetching my children from school and sometimes going for ice-cream just to give them a treat.

One thing I loved was celebrating my children’s birthdays. I really went all out to spend and give them a real celebration with friends and some family members. Each time I had to be conscious to balance what I did for each one of them.

One of my highlights was traveling with my children for holidays. Everyone would be so excited and pack their bags, including their favorite toys to play with while away.It was such fun and that is when their dad and I learnt so much about their characters and sense of humour. It also gave me the opportunity just to play with them, run and walk together and just spend time together away from the usual schedules.

Motherhood also gave me extra worries as I had to worry on behalf of my children on their first day of school or when they had to compete for a sporting or other school event, including writing exams. It was also the same experience of anxiety I went through even when they were older and had to leave the country for further studies.

One thing I learnt about motherhood is the belief by each child that I was an expert in everything . To them, I was a doctor, a cook, a mechanic, a teacher, a problem solver for everything. Each of my children expected me to have an answer to all their problems and sometimes I felt overwhelmed.I had to learn to deal with each child’s highs and lows and still remain sober and composed.When their team did not win a game, I had to commiserate with them had to commiserate with them, when they were selected to a leadership position or achieved good grades, I would celebrate with them. I would feel very proud and walk tall as if it was my personal achievement.

Motherhood taught me to be loving, patient, forgiving, supportive in all situations,and to be brave.With three children around me, I learnt to listen more than talk as each one wanted to be heard.Motherhood came with a lot of responsibility. I realized that I had to show the way, teach the right values about life, including taking the children to church to learn about their faith and visit relatives. I had to ensure that my children had a good education, enough to eat, to clothe , had good health and were immunized, and had a good home. I had to advise them about friendships that were good for them too.All these functions of motherhood taught me to love unconditionally, and to cherish my family. I enjoyed seeing my children happy and did all the things that I could wish for them.

Motherhood also taught me to recognize the differences in my children and to love them despite the differences. It also taught me to pray because when my children became teenagers, I needed God’s wisdom to cope with the challenges associated with these beings. I learnt to laugh, cry, play, trust,enjoy and relax with them. I also got to have new friends through my children’s friends whom I learnt to embrace as mine. I learnt to be humble as my children did not always excel in their endeavors.

I would like to conclude by saying that motherhood is a profession that one qualifies to do without the certificates or studying, but through experience. It doesn’t end no matter how old children get. It is a lifetime job. I would never exchange motherhood for anything else.

The making of...

Work in progress...

Working with my niece...

The artist...

Born and raised in Harare, Zimbabwe, Matindike-Gondo is the second child in a family of three children. She is married and has a daughter. Tashinga is an artist and works as the Curator for Education at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. She is also a Board member of the Zimbabwe Youth Council. 

For her primary and secondary education, she attended the Dominican Convent in Harare. In 1999, Matindike-Gondo traveled to the United States of America, where she lived for a year in Wisconsin as a Rotary Exchange Student. Matindike-Gondo then returned to Zimbabwe in order to complete her Cambridge A level studies in Art, English Literature and Management of Business. 

In 2002, the artist enrolled at the Michaelis School of Fine Art – University of Cape Town in South Africa, in order to pursue her tertiary studies in Fine Art. Matindike-Gondo graduated on the Dean’s Merit List with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree [2007], as well as attained a Master of Fine Art, with distinction in December 2009. 

Matindike-Gondo describes herself as a contemporary African artist, whose conceptual work addresses issues concerning her personal experiences.  The visual articulation of the artist’s encounters is influenced by her individual, cultural and religious characteristics. 

For her Masters body of work, the artist focused on the theme of memorialisation, expressed as a creative process and she produced a body of work, which manifested as the residue of her reflections on grief and memory that she chose to exhibit in a commemorative manner.  This exhibition, entitled 14 Ways to Remember - Nzira gumi nena dzekuyeuka,  was an end product of an investigation involving the exploration and preservation of the memories of her brother. 

This year, Matindike- Gondo will anchor her first solo exhibition at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare. This show is entitled, ‘Beneath the surface: Bambanani,’ which opens on the 11^th of October 2012. 

The artist has chosen to create and exhibit a body of work, which by means of creativity encapsulates her commencement of motherhood, juxtaposed with the experiences of those individuals with whom she shares a maternal connection. The artist explores issues related to the role of the woman in the traditional society of the Ndebele people – the group of people from whom her mother originates. 

In her production, Matindike-Gondo makes use of found objects and digital media with the intention of generating an archival memorial. Her iconography encompasses manipulated wording and encourages the viewer to engage with the subject matter on a personal and/or social level.  The body of work has been generated on the basis of a concept related to the artist’s personal experience, which remains open to interpretation. 

Matindike-Gondo has exhibited works at the Michaelis Graduate Show (2007), in the exhibition Local Rhetorics (2008) and at the Michaelis Graduate Show (2009). All three exhibitions were show cased in Cape Town, South Africa. Matindike-Gondo re-exhibited her Masters body of work at HIFA 2010 in Harare. 

Matindike-Gondo has ‘found her way home’ and presents to the public, a promising contemporary exhibition.

The making of...