This year marks the ninth edition of the StArt art fair. Founded by collectors David and Serenella Ciclitira, their mission is to give emerging and established artists around the world a platform. Held at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, the second floor hosts the fifty entries of the inaugural Martin Miller's Gin StART Emerging Art Prize amongst other established artists.
Walking into the exhibition you are overwhelmed from the choice of style, scale and topic matter. From oil paint to watercolour, tapestry to sculpture, there is everything you could think of.
One piece almost takes up the entire room, draping above your head. Winner of the MMG StArt Emerging Art Prize, Tanaka Mazivanhanga's 'Utopia' is magnificent; in both senses of the word. When I tell her so she struggles to take the compliment. People have been congratulating her all morning, but perhaps it hasn’t sunk in yet.
Having completed a BA in architecture, Tanaka realised it wasn’t for her. However, in her third year her tutor encouraged her to be experimental with her work and introduced her to the printmaking room. From there, she got hooked: 'I found it quite expressive. With printmaking you can tell your own story and make art based on what you want to communicate. Whereas with architecture, I felt semi-restricted.'
Her background in architecture does influence her prints though: 'In architecture you always work with A1 paper, that's the norm, and then if you go bigger that's even better. That's always stayed with me.' After experimenting for several years, Tanaka applied to do an MA in Printmaking at Camberwell College of Arts. It was at the Woolwich print fair where curator, Heidi Pearce, discovered her work and told her about the StArt art fair.
It took Tanaka an intense month to complete 'Utopia' and even though the artwork is huge, it's still detailed on the front and the back. Noting the size, I say I’ve never seen a piece of paper so big – 15m – Tanaka enthusiastically tells me that this isn’t even her biggest work - she has one which is 45m! I think about a long hall of a gallery large enough to display it.
Inspired by the urban landscape and its textures, Tanaka captures overlooked spaces: 'I go around tracing bits of derelict buildings or chewing gum stains, stains found on the ground; just bases that are overlooked and then bring them to the studio and give them a new life through the use of colour.'
There's a level of unpredictability to her work: the randomness of what she finds to trace and the way the finished piece is displayed. Her work never hangs the same as it is contingent on the architecture of the space. It must have an angulating finish though and be hung high, Tanaka encourages people to interact with the piece, 'I always print on both sides, so then you can move about and look up', which also creates a sense of depth.
Today is the first time 'Utopia' is being displayed. Because Tanaka made it specially for the StArt art fair, she marked up key bits using post stick notes indicating where she would like it to be hung. But she also trusted Louis Chapple (the curator) to drape it across the gallery as he saw fit.
So, what's next? Tanaka has recently returned from a trip to Ghana where she was researching and planning pieces. She will continue to work from her home in London, etching and printing amongst other art forms.
Tanaka Mazivanhanga always likes to challenge herself, and I have no doubt that her next piece will be just as impressive.
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