Troy Makaza
"Silicone infused with paint strings is just one way I express my thoughts and ideas. It started with how best I can transform the material from its original use. Making it into strings and tying knots became a way of symbolizing how there is strength in numbers and also the social ties within my country. Some strings are pasted together in a way that resembles farming lines and this speaks about how land and agriculture is directly linked to the history and existence of the nation Zimbabwe."
Troy Makaza via Juliet Art Magazine, 2024
To merge his love of painting and sculpture Troy Makaza (1995, Zimbabwe) invented his own medium creating seductive, glossy, tactile and surrealist wall works made of silicone infused with pigment - a material that can be cast, painted, but also woven and tied. Resonating with traditional modes such as weaving and tapestry, Makaza's works explore what the African and specifically Zimbabwean contemporary can be today: a paradigm both internationally appealing and locally compelling.
