Biography
Gerald Machona is a Zimbabwean born Visual artist with a Bachelors degree in Fine art from the University of Cape Town, which he completed at the Michaelis school of fine arts in 2009. He is currently persuing a MFA degree at Rhodes University, through a scholarship awards by the Rhodes humanities department & the Mellon foundation. has taken part in various group exhibitions, most recently ‘US II’ curated by Bettina Malcomess and Simon Njami at the Iziko South African National Gallery and the Johanessburg art fair. Gerald is interested in the convergence of art, performance, culture and heritage in Africa and the experinces of the African-Diaspora.
“My art practice challenges xenophobic attitudes towards foreign immigrants. I begin my journey by adopting a Malawian mythical practice know as Gule Wamkulu which has been the subject of public gaze throughout the region of Southern Africa. Spreading from as far of as Malawi to the streets of Harare (Zimbabwe) it has become the iconic symbol of the migrant worker and his/her alien culture. Through the use of this traditionaly ‘chewa’ performance, which is documented using video and photography, I assume various roles and occupations that immigrants to South African take up as a means of identification “ Gerald Machona.
