Zhakanaka
Artist
Melvin Edwards
(American, born 1937)
Date1989
Mediumwelded steel
Dimensions35.6 x 31.8 x 21.6 cm (14 x 12 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineEliza S. Paine Fund
Terms
Object number1999.76
DescriptionThe meaning of the work, "Zhanaka" transates from the Shona Language of Zimbabwe to: "You are welcome – there is nothing to it".Label TextMelvin Edwards' artistic intent has never been literal representation. Zhakanaka (which translates to "you are welcome—there is nothing to it") was inspired by his 1988 trip to Zimbabwe and keeps the Shona language of that country for its title. It is one of more than 200 welded steel sculptures in his Lynch Fragments, an ongoing series that he began in 1963 during the rise of the Civil Rights movement and has developed throughout numerous visits to Africa. Mostly head size and hung on the wall at the artist's height, these abstract sculptures are fusions of contexts and cultures in the forms of found metallic objects-chains, railroad spikes, nails, hooks, bolts, gears-which carry with them personal, racial, and cultural memory.ProvenanceThe artist; purchased from CDS Gallery, New York
On View
On view
