Wallen Mapondera’s exhibition at the Galerie Mitterrand in Paris takes its name from a kind of African hopscotch called Pada.
Wallen Mapondera’s first solo exhibition, titled Chikokoko (Little pleasures that counts/Small pleasures that count)is visible until May 29 at the Galerie Mitterrand in Paris.
Born in 1985 in Zimbabwe, Wallen Mapondera now lives and works in South Africa. A multidisciplinary artist, he uses several mediums – painting, drawing, sculpture and installations – to create works, the best known of which are his wall sculptures in cardboard and textiles.
About his latest paintings inspired by a game for children, he says: “My initial project was to identify, comment on, and encourage the simple things that bring pleasure to life. As the work progressed, I went beyond the surface and the ordinary. I realized that chikokoko could be both simple and extraordinary.”
In the captions below, the artist comments on his work.