The Sunday Mail
Society Correspondent
TO an outsider, the neighbourhood they live in is intimidating.
It is a discordant picture of shacks and brick and mortar houses.
The small yards enclosed by fences and the narrow lanes that separate the matchbox houses are the convenient playground for children.
This is the neighbourhood in which Zimbabwe’s abstract artist Valentine Mutasa was born.
Locally known as the Doudi Store section of Mbare, it is a densely populated enclave of tiny two- and four-bedroomed houses located not too far from the main bus terminus.
Some of these houses were built before independence by the colonial government for the African population, which supplied the much-needed labour.
In 1972, this was the final destination of a 15-year-old Faina Maenzanise, who left her grandmother in rural Mutare after completing primary education in order to join her mother and stepfather in the city.
Faina, however, did not manage to proceed with her education, as the stepfather believed that completing Standard Six was good enough education for a girl.
Her mother worked as a maid in Greendale.
All this meant that Faina had to engage in household chores. So, being a domestic helper for her family became part of her life.
As fate would have it, she later met and fell in love with Ben Mutasa, who was the head of a local youth group she had joined to resist colonial rule.
Out of the couple’s love was born Valentine Mutasa in 1980, who is popularly known as “Picasso”. However, the marriage did not last long, as Ben joined the great trek to South Africa in search of fortune.
“When Ben left for South Africa, there was nothing amiss about someone wanting to go and get employment; many people did the same. But I had no idea he would just disappear like that and leave me to raise our son (Valentine) on my own,” said Faina.
She started selling farm produce.
Although it was hard work, it was profitable.
“I would go to rural areas and sometimes pick up my own groundnuts or other produce, put them in sacks and carry the heavy loads myself to whatever means of transport I could find to the city. As a result, my back got disfigured and I have never fully recovered from it.”
Later on, she found new love and gave birth to two children — Nigel and Chelsea.
But she could no longer continue trading in farm produce.
As a result, she switched to tie-dyeing clothes or anything that people could buy.
The business helped feed her family. A three-week course in tie-dye at Silveira House in Chishawasha paved the way for her to start a home-based batik business.
The business became the family’s mainstay, but she was not able to sustain it for long as she struggled to raise the much-needed capital and recruit workers.
Catching the bug
The business would have a profound impact on Valentine, who would spend an inordinate amount of time drawing and sketching.
When the young man concentrated on drawing and painting, instead of playing outside with the other children or reading books, his grandparents got worried. They disapproved of Valentine’s actions.
Faina, however, stood by her son.
The first time Valentine brought home some groceries, bought with proceeds from the sale of his artwork, was soon after he had completed Form Four at Harare High School.
He joined hands with other upcoming artists from the neighbourhood and they would sell their works at street corners in the city.
At the time he was in Form Six at Mount Pleasant High School, the young man made a decision to study art. His dream, however, did not materialise. He decided to stay at home and work on his art to help support the family.
“Valentine has supported our family with income from his artwork since he completed Form Four. He is our breadwinner and I thank God for that,” said Faina, who believes that parents should let their children follow their dreams.
So good is Valentine with his art that his peers call him Picasso after the celebrated Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer.
