Interview with Petro Wodkins, the Russian artist chased by Zimbabwe's government after mocking Mugabe

"If art can make people dance, sing and laugh in the face of a dictator, this is a reason enough for me to keep doing art. This and the face of a furious dictator"

So says famous Russian artist, Petro Wodkins, known worldwide for being behind a series of art happenings covered by the global media, who I had the chance to interview.

After his most recent daring art stunt Petro barely made it alive out of Zimbabwe. The artist was invited to a workshop in Zimbabwe but instead chose to put up a huge golden statue of himself singing a song mocking Zimbabwe's dictator, Robert Mugabe. Due to the nature of his work, the invitation to the workshop was withdrawn by the Zimbabwean authorities. But the artist went to Zimbabwe anyway, taking the statue and its song.

Petro Wodkins' gold statue

The Zimbabwean government reacted brutally, pulling down the statue and both the police and the army tried to arrest the Russian artist who managed to escape to Zambia.

During the interview, I asked Petro why he often chooses satire and mockery to make art. His response was that he uses different artistic approaches, but when he wishes to say something about society, then satire is very effective. This is particularly true when the subject matter is a tyrant, since when people start to laugh, the tyrant is in big trouble since fear and comedy do not tend to accompany one another. Thus, challenging fear with mockery is Petro's weapon of choice.

I questioned Petro as to why he decided to take the statue to Zimbabwe despite the Zimbabwean government's withdrawal of his invitation to participate to the workshop. He answered that this artwork was important and needed to be shown in Zimbabwe in order to be effective. He wanted to show both Mugabe and the people of Zimbabwe that it is possible to challenge authorities and that not everyone fears Zimbabwe's tyrannical dictator. He added that he felt that he needed to take a risk and display his work in Zimbabwe, and not at a safe distance elsewhere.

I asked Petro's opinion as to why art frightens more and more governments. His belief is that art creates a tricky situation for governments. If they don't react to criticism, it can be considered a sign of weakness or as an opening, which will create yet more protest art. On the other hand, if they do react and try to suppress the art, such censorship may attract even more attention to the art. Therefore, governments try to stop art before it does even become public. 

Finally, I asked the artist whether art should make people reflect on problems instead of being just "art for the art's sake." According to Petro, art should relate to people and highlight problems, and not just be exhibited in a gallery for a narrow audience of upper class people. Petro does not ask for authorization to show his art and if he does not see any reaction in people, then he is not satisfied. Most of his art is confiscated or destroyed, but he does not mind. His purpose is to reach as many people as possible.

  

You can see Petro's song and his filmed material here. Petro made them with hidden cameras, since filming in Harare is forbidden. 

Banned Zimbabwean Artist’s Work Uncovered

In March 2009, Zimbabwean artist Owen Maseko had an exhibition at the National Gallery in Bulawayo. Many artists are nervous before their works are shown to the public but Maseko had more reason to be anxious than most. His work was an outspoken critique of the 1980s period known as the Gukurahundi, when forces associated with Mugabe committed widespread atrocities. According to ArtInfo, the authorities shut the exhibition down the following day on the basis that it would provoke inter-tribal strife. Furthermore, both Maseko and Voti Thebi, the gallery’s Director, were taken to prison in leg shackles.

According to the Web site of Sokwanele, an underground pro-democracy movement in Zimbabwe, Maseko was initially charged with violating a prohibition on anything that "insults or undermines the authority of the President," as well as "causing offense to persons of a particular race, religion, etc." Under Zimbabwean law, these charges warrant a fine or a prison sentence of up to a year. However, the Government later attempted to substitute the charges with “violating a ban on publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the State." This offence carries up to 20 years of prison time.

Maseko's lawyer successfully argued against this greater sentence, however, Maseko’s art remains banned, and the art from his exhibition is still retained by the authorities as potential evidence against him.



Maseko's Gukurahundi exhibition includes graffiti and installation elements as well as paintings. Slogans scrawled on the walls proclaim such sentiments as "A weak community is a politically compliant one," and "Patterns of resilience and support need to be facilitated...." The show also included several dummies strewn around the space, apparently representing victims of the atrocities. The paintings depict faceless silhouettes many of whom are fleeing in terror. In amongst all this fear threads the sinister caricature of a figure in over-sized glasses: Mugabe.



Maseko's personal website explained his philosophy as an artist: "Being an artist is about being brave and using art to challenge attitudes … People in Zimbabwe are waiting for change, but we as Zimbabweans are the change." He has been and continues to be extremely brave. It is now up to us to view and understand his art and not allow it to be swept under the carpet.

Art Info has an online gallery of seven photos from the exhibition which is available here: and there is a wider gallery of photos on Flickr.

Sources: Art Info and Sokwanele