Shortly before last year’s de facto coup, General Constantino Chiwenga was quoted as saying, “the history of our revolution cannot be rewritten by those who have not been part of it”.
On the contrary, the Zimbabwe Association of Female Photographers’ (ZAFP) exhibition ‘Legitimate Expectations’ which opened last week, suggests that there is an urgent need to revisit history and recognise the past as a way of mapping the future for the younger generation of Zimbabweans hoping to carve out a more inclusive national narrative.
The exhibition, which launched at the Market Photo Workshop Gallery 1989 in Johannesburg on the anniversary of former President Robert Mugabe’s resignation, presents a selection of images contrasting the two weeks of elation during the 2017 de facto coup against the ongoing legacy of the previous administration.
The five participating photographers – Angela Jimu, Annie Mpalume, Cynthia Matonhodze, Davina Jogi and Kresiah Mukwazhi – are all ZAFP members and alumni of the Market Photo Workshop photography school. The images on display range from Mukwazhi’s emotive series on the lives of sex workers at Hopley Farm to Mpalume’s photojournalistic work documenting Zimbabwe’s political landscape and figures.
The ZAFP was launched in 2013 as a voluntary organisation that strives to raise the standard of professionalism in the industry through project-based training, networking and the promotion of its members’ work. Since its inception, the Association has carried out photographic projects that not only strengthen the practice of participants but also seek to inform the public, increasing visual literacy in Zimbabwe.
Last year the ZAFP was awarded an ANT Mobility Grant by Pro Helvetia Johannesburg financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the exhibition is supported by this award.
