Kudzanai-Violet Hwami
- Emma Hehir
- Apr 13
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 21
Hossanna, hossanna (2018/2019)
Close Looking: Queer African Art and Family
Visual description:
Hwami’s Hossanna, hossanna brings together acrylic and oil in a composition that moves between unity and uncertainty. The foreground recalls SMPTE color bars used for screen calibration, introducing a digital reference point. Her brushstrokes feel almost expressionist and move across the canvas even as the palette shifts dramatically in hue.
This border of visual intensity extends into a calmer field of green and white, where a couple stands at the center. Their joined hands draw the viewer in and become the focal point of the composition. Around them, scattered sketches and forms reminiscent of X-ray imagery suggest movement, layering, and shifting time within the scene.
Context:
Kudzanai-Violet Hwami was raised in Gutu, Zimbabwe, and now lives and works in the UK. Her work is often autobiographical and engages her identity as a queer Black woman while moving across digital, spiritual, and temporal references. Drawing on literature, music, and personal experience, she constructs paintings that feel collage-like in their layering of image and meaning.
In a symposium, Hwami noted that the two figures were inspired by very different sources. One reference is an adult film performer, and the other is the artist’s aunt, a village-based spiritual healer. Bringing these figures together reflects her interest in holding multiple identities and influences within a single space. As she has said, “I think I am seeking freedom.”
Interpretation:
The couple’s handholding anchors the painting. Despite the surrounding chaos, they appear steady and self-contained. Their connection suggests a sense of continuity, even as the world around them shifts. The contrast between the turbulent border and the calm center may reflect the pressures placed on queer relationships, especially how they are seen, interpreted, or judged by others.
The use of digital motifs such as the color bars can be read as a metaphor for calibration or standardization. In this sense, the couple might be positioned against external expectations or imposed definitions. Yet they remain grounded and occupy the center of the composition on their own terms.
The work suggests that family and connection are not fixed or singular. Instead, they are shaped through experience, resilience, and the ability to hold complexity. Love here is not separate from uncertainty, but persists within it.
Reflect and Explore
Observe the posture of the couple. They appear grounded despite the surrounding chaos. How does this affect your reading of the image?
The painting shifts between more realistic and more abstract passages. How might these stylistic differences relate to identity or self-understanding?
What role do the color bars and X-ray-like imagery play? Do they suggest visibility, analysis, exposure, or something else?
How does the contrast between the central figures and the surrounding field shape your interpretation of their relationship?
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Artist & Primary Sources
Emma this is a great guide! I really appreciate how you connected the x-ray imagery to both depth and transparency, that feels key to understanding the painting. It makes me think about how visibility can be double-edged, especially for queer identities: being seen can affirm you, but it can also feel exposing or scrutinizing.
Hi
You did great with your guide! Since my first viewing of this work, I have been intrigued by the use of the x-ray like imagery. It makes the piece feel a lot deeper while also strangely transparent rather than just a static image. I think this ties in with the last reflection question. That shift between realistic and abstract passages reflect how our identities sometimes feels transparent and realistic while simultaneously feeling like we are complex and layered (and can be x-rayed at times).