Richard Mudariki

Richard Mudariki was born in Seke, Zimbabwe, and currently lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa. A mentee of established artists Allen Kupeta, Helen Lieros, and Greg Shaw, he is perhaps best known for his satirical use of iconic figures and symbols to provide commentary on the socio-political environment of his homeland and beyond.

Richard Mudariki’s work has long been interested in the intersection of personal and political worlds. For while the artist often tackles societal issues and public personas, rendering them in absurdist, theatrical milieus, his work nevertheless always maintains a highly personal dimension, providing a space for personal reflection and examination. 

A common thread in both of Mudariki’s more recent works, Patriotic Stereo Tape and Reform, Scan, Format? (2018), are the hidden operators, whose hands reach out from behind the scenes to tamper with a cassette tape, bribe a cyborg, or manipulate information. Read in the light of Zimbabwe’s recent elections, these works question the possibility of political reform and the extent to which a genuine democracy may be realised under state censorship and control.

Mudariki has been featured in the following exhibitions: Mutara Wenguva (Time Line) at Sanlam Art Collection, Johannesburg and Cape Town (South Africa: 2017); Nano 1:1 at Barnard Gallery in Cape Town (South Africa: 2017); A Painting Today at Stevenson, Cape Town (South Africa: 2017); My Reality at Johans Borman Fine Art, Cape Town (South Africa: 2012); and Post Election Selection at Gallery Delta (Zimbabwe: 2008).

Richard Mudariki’s works are featured in the Zeitz MOCAA exhibition, Five Bhobh – Painting at the End of an Era (2018 – 2019).