All Our Ancestors

Abstract

All Our Ancestors is a British Council supported artist residency and collaborative exhibition by Simeon Nelson at the First Floor Gallery, Harare with Zimbabwean artist Moffat Takadiwa in 2014. It resulted in a 260 x 260 x 200 cms sculpture constructed from cardboard, bolts, thread and glass. This ‘Afrogothic’ sculpture hybridised ornamental and theological systems from England and Zimbabwe. It asked what shared properties underlie Zimbabwean Shona and Christian monotheistic religion and ethnography. It was also selected for the group show Scintilla at Commune 1 Gallery, Cape Town in 2014 accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue. All Our Ancestors extends investigations in previous artworks by Nelson, namely Relicario (2011) and Paratekton (2011-12) into the cross-cultural and mathematical basis of ornament and its relationship to structure. Nelson consulted with leading Harare-based artists like Tapfuma Gutsa and mentored a group of young artists in researching the ideas, gathering materials and constructing the sculpture.