Moffat Takadiwa was born in 1983 in Karoi, Zimbabwe and currently lives and works in Harare. He graduated with a BA Honors from Harare Polytechnic College, Zimbabwe in 2008. Takadiwa creates large-scale sculptural pieces from ordinarily discarded materials, including everything from computer waste, aerosol cans and spray bottles, to toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes. He weaves together these small everyday objects to make impressive organic forms evocative of jewel-encrusted excess or a ritualistic kind of minimalism. The artist’s choice of materials communicates his concern with issues around consumerism, inequality, post-colonialism and the environment. Part of the post-independence generation of artists in Zimbabwe, Takadiwa has exhibited extensively across major institutions in Zimbabwe as well as internationally. Recent solo presentations include: Say Hello to English, Tyburn Gallery, London (2017); Foreign Objects, Tyburn Gallery, London, UK (2015); Foreign Bodies, Whatiftheworld, Cape Town, South Africa (2016); Local Foreign Products at Gallery Special Projects, FNB Joburg Art Fair, Johannesburg, South Africa (2015); Africa Not Reachable! at First Floor Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe (2012). Selected group exhibitions include: Right at the Equator, Depart Foundation, Malibu, CA, USA (2018); On being alone and unbearable loneliness, Watou Art Festival, Belgium (2017); Chinafrika, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig, Germany (2017); De Nature en Sculpture, Villa Datris Foundation, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France (2017); Le jour qui vient, curated by Marie-Ann Yemsi, Galerie des Galeries, Galeries Lafayette, Paris (2017); Dear Europa…, Whatiftheworld, Cape Town (2016); When Tomorrow Comes, Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg and Michaelis Galleries, Cape Town (2016); Broken English,Tyburn Gallery, London (2015); UNcertain Terms, Whatiftheworld, Cape Town (2014); Warp & Woof, The Hole, New York, USA (2014); and National Gallery of Zimbabwe Annual Show, Harare, Zimbabwe (2014). In 2014 Takadiwa collaborated with the Australian artist Simeon Nelson on a large-scale sculptural installation All Our Ancestors following Nelson's residency in Harare. Takadiwa has been a recipient of many awards since 2008, including the Award of Attendance from The Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, Harare, Zimbabwe in 2012 and an Award of Merit and Special Mention Prize for exhibitions at Gallery Delta, Harare, Zimbabwe both in 2010. In 2018, the artist will exhibit his work in the group exhibitions Language is the Only Homeland at Nest, The Hague, Netherlands, and The Eye Sees Not Itself at Nicodim Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
