Weya art is a Zimbabwean form of pictorial composition which by comparison is a cross between European folk art and Naive art. It is likened to folk art because of its deliberate breakaway from the traditional rules of proportion and perspective, but favoring the childlike simplicity and frankness of naive art. The style adopts a less realistic modeling of and involves no preliminary drawings. Weya art is uniquely indigenous and therefore mostly depicts Zimbabwean cultural tradition. The artists produce their work in four media categories, that is appliqué, embroidery, painting and sadza batik and they use a social documentary approach narrating various village or community life activities ranging from witchcraft to beer brewing ceremonies and other cultural social scenes like marriage and village meetings. Research has shown that they are not concerned about style or technique but are rather more intent on communicating their message as directly as possible. It is important to note that Weya Art at its inception was Women Art, which is to say it was done and produced by women and as a result many of the topics done by Weya women were openly transgressive topics which women would not speak of in the presence of men. Times have changed and the art has evolved and has become inclusive for males as well and the themes have expanded to other human structures like politics, national events and entertainment.
Sadza Paintings |
Weya Applique Story Cloths |
Weya Story Cloth Aprons |
|