| Description: | Weya Art refers to the art of the peasant women of Weya Communal Land, which is found in the periphery of the Makoni District in Zimbabwe. It is one of the least developed regions in terms of both public and private infrastructure such as schools, medical centres and transport services. Weya Art, a narrative type of brightly coloured art work on fabricated plywood and fabric was originally developed through the services of a German volunteer. Weya Art may be worked at in a variety of mediums: through painting, sadza painting (batik), graphics, embroidery and appliqué.
This piece tells the story of a young woman who married and then became pregnant. Her husband, who went to work in Harare, would beat her whenever he came home. One day, she found her husband with another woman. The two women fought, and her husband's mistress poured boiling water upon her. Rather than come to his wife's aid, though, her husband threw her out of the house. During the time of their separation, the young woman gave birth to twins. When the husband came to see his children, she asked him for money to help support the children, but he only responded by beating her once more.
Desperate, the young woman approached a certain old lady to ask her for a Mupfuhwira, or love potion, that her husband might love her again and their family might be reunited. The love potion, alas, turned out to be poison, and the husband died. At a loss, the woman turned to her aunt, who told her about a group of women who met together once a week to talk and to help each other with financial and other troubles. Eventually, the woman was able to send her children to school. She finally came to realize that life without a husband was agreeable.
|
