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Kundai Marunya and Tiller Maringa Arts Correspondents
Local visual artist Moffat Takadiwa who recently had one of his art pieces bought by United States hip hop and business mogul Jay-Z, says the significance of the purchase was more important than the amount paid for the piece.

The artist, who sold his piece – “Tengwe Farms” – to Jay-Z for an undisclosed fee, said he appreciates the gesture of a black American buying art from an African than the amount of money spent.

“Art used to be collected by old wealthy white people. It’s only recently that black people have shown interest in collecting art.

“The significant part of Jay-Z buying ‘Tengwe Farms’ is beyond any figure,” said Takadiwa.
“Jay-Z grew up in the ghetto and rose to stardom. I also grew up on the rich soils of a farming community of Tengwe, worked in Mbare for years and I’m now getting recognition from within Zimbabwe and abroad. There is somehow a link in our life stories.”

“‘Tengwe Farms’ now hangs in Jay-Z’s Rocknation offices in Los Angeles (LA). Tengwe is significant in history and economy of Zimbabwe, as it is a farming area which produces most of the tobacco in the country,” said Takadiwa.

“The area is instrumental in the growth of the Zimbabwe’s economy which is an agro-based nation with tobacco being the top paying (cash) crop.

“It is, however, alarming how the area remains underdeveloped when it injects large amounts of money into the economy.”

Explaining the concept of “Tengwe Farms” Takadiwa said he was trying to interrogate issues to do with land which was at the core of wars of freedom on the continent.

“The art piece is part of a body of works which I exhibited at Nicodim Gallery in the United States as part of my solo exhibition titled ‘Son of the Soil’.

“With the exhibition, I question the position of new governments after independence, how they deal with land issues and where young people fit in the conversation,” he said.

“I used waste from key companies that are remnants of the colonial era but still remain at the centre of trade and economies of Africa.

“They dominate trade and resources at the same time, their end products pollute our land.”
“Son of the Soil” was Takadiwa’s first major exhibition in the United States, attracting the attention of high profile people in Hollywood.

“First ‘Tengwe Farms’ caught the eye of Beyoncé whose team came while I was in LA. I was surprised to hear it was then bought by her husband.

“My art has been attracting the attention of many high profile people, especially this exhibition which was first at Nicodim’s new space in South Santa Fe, a more artsy and populated district.”

For his various works and exhibitions, Takadiwa has been receiving rave reviews in the international media.