Portia Zvavahera (1985, Zimbabwe) is currently showcasing a new body of work titled Zvakazarurwa at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, UK. Zvakazarurwa explores the complexities of the female experience, placing emphasis on her vivid emotions, which often appear in her dreams and everyday encounters. Portia exalts her emotional force as a guide in the mysteries of life. Translated to mean “revelations,” and referencing both the Bible and Portia’s own life experiences, Zvakazarurwa acknowledges the power of intuition, manifested through dreams and other life experiences. The exhibition is also accompanied by her latest book release.
“These are the things I’ve seen in my sleep—the things I’ve been allowed to see about my life. I describe my dreams as emotionally vivid rather than visually so. My paintings aren’t illustrations of my dreams; instead, they aim to capture their emotional force.“states Portia.
Zvakazarurwa features a large body of work created specifically for this exhibition, centered around a recurring dream in which Portia struggles to protect her family from malign forces—“bad energies” that take the form of rats. This powerful vision anchors the collection and sets the tone for her exploration of religion, life, and the supernatural. Zvavahera creates a contemporary space where she actively navigates her lived experiences through supernatural forces. These forces, expressed through emotion and dreams, form a point of convergence where she reveals the duality of human existence.
In her earlier works, she combined imagery of childbirth and motherhood with expressive mark-making and delicate patterns. These allude to the intimate, early feelings of motherhood—feelings often caught between a fierce instinct to protect and the emotional weight of being responsible for another life. Through layers of vibrant color and veil-like motifs, her paintings evoke a visceral, overwhelming mood, inviting viewers to sit with and absorb the intended emotion.
Alluding to traditions of figuration in both historical and contemporary Zimbabwean art, Zvavahera’s figures echo the work of artists like Thomas Mukarobgwa from the 1960s and reflect post-war artistic practices that explore the human condition. Her new works shift toward dream-like states, which serve as emotional reservoirs—spaces where she channels her feelings in response to life’s experiences. Through expressive brushwork and printmaking techniques, Zvavahera creates palimpsestic surfaces layered with ornate, veil-like patterns. These textures reveal both the innocence and deeply spiritual dimension that her subjects inhabit.
The exhibition is curated by Tamar Garb FBA—a feminist, researcher, and professor at University College London—as part of her ongoing engagement with Zvavahera’s work since 2012. By engaging with Zvakazarurwa, audiences are invited into realms that transcend ordinary experience—spaces that often act as precursors to human thought, emotion, and response.
The exhibition is currently on view until the 25th of May.
