Sicela Amandla – Pleading for Strength by Johnson Mugabe

Johnson Mugabe, Sicela Amandla – Pleading for Strength, 2020, Paper and Textile collage on canvas,12 x 12 framed

My artistic practice is largely influenced by children and my own childhood experiences, though at times women and the roles they play in society are part of that narrative. I create mostly in paper collage and sometimes incorporate textile and beads in my art pieces, by finding the right kind of balance the mixing of mediums enrich my collages. My love for paper collage was born out of the realization that strokes similar to those of paint could be imitated with paper. I cut out plain colored paper from magazines, trace out the shades on my sketches on them and cut out the shapes with a blade to smoothen out the edges the result of this is that my collages when viewed at a distance can easily be mistaken for paintings.

Johnson Mugabe is an emerging Zimbabwean self-taught paper collage artist based in Harare where he also works. He started drawing at a young age and in his early twenties he came across paper collage art and developed a deep interest in it. His subject matter mostly consists of people going through their daily routines as well as themes around childhood which represents a need to reconnect to his own childhood as he considers this the happiest phase of his life. Johnson has exhibited his work at The Wild Geese Art Festival in 2018 where one of his pieces won “The Most Unusual Work on Show“ Award and the Artists In The Stream X Exhibition at Gallery Delta were another of his pieces was awarded a certificate of merit.