Words by Francesca Matthys.
The Infinities Commission: nora chipaumire: Gadzi breathes life and ritual into Tate Modern. This type of exhibitionary work is a first for the artist, who constructed the entire exhibition by hand. However chipaumire’s work has always held an immersive quality even solely in its performative capacity. Upon speaking to curator Valentine Umansky about the meaning of ‘Gadzi’, I was illuminated by this intergenerational landscape in which chipaumire offers of her lineage and cultural heritage.
Gadzi shortened from the word ‘Gadziguru’ refers to the oldest female being and creative energy but also the little girl sat perched above one of the boulders in this sacred land, she is the mother and the child, the wise sage and the curious; keeper of rocks. Legend amongst the Shona people of Zimbabwe.
We feel her presence in the space as we are surrounded by boulders, sound systems and taluses. Even before the performance begins we are invited to experience the world; touch, feel and inhabit what feels like the artist’s home. An intimacy that can be felt in the dimly lit space, in the details of makeshift petrol bottle lights shadowing softly and a miniature version in video of this landscape where chipaumire is seen moving with care amongst balancing beauties within her sanctuary.
Home is a potent word when I reflect back on this work. As nora, and her collaborators open the performance. We are seated in the centre as if we have all been gathered by the fire place, the exhibition as our village and we community members, family, kin.
This opening that traverses between potent sound, text and organic awakenings is like a baptism of the space, a welcome as chipaumire exclaims ‘thanks and praises to the most high’ and honoring the lineages and lands from which we all may come. There is a stillness here where we are just asked to bask in the breath and boundlessness of these primal sounds.
Saxophone, voice, base and chipaumire’s whistle cutting into the space like a sharp reminder that though we walk in strength and power as African people, our history is shrouded with resistance and resilience. This is echoed through the immediate surroundings as I notice the words ‘A luta Continua’ written on part of the exhibition. An iconic phrase originated through the Mozambican independence movement by the Mozambican Liberation Front, against Portuguese colonial rule. A phrase that’s legacy continued throughout liberation movements across Africa such as anti-apartheid movements, amongst others.
As the soundbath-like reverberation boils beneath our feet, an initiation of bodies as the performers’ feet rhythmically yearn for the ground with percussive footwork, the cardboard a representative of soft and supple sand. They are suspended in time as they vibrate to the undercurrents of their sonic offering; full and expansive. Their pelvises are driven by something beyond this material world, spirit, ancestors, history. This dance soon extends itself into the space, reminiscent of Toyi-toyi, a south african dance characterized by the rhythmic stomping of the feet and usually used in protest.
Through this vibrant movement we are invited to share in this uprising, this celebration, this revival and preservation of the stories of the land. A marvel to watch the crowd sway, myself too stomping my bare feet on the soft ground and a few people indulging right in the centre of our imagined firepit amidst the performers. This moment of jubilation creates space for us to relish in the spirit of gadzi, grounded, liberated, embodied.
Nora’s work truly transforms the Tate Tanks and transports us to a world where earth, stone and rock are mother and connection between us is palpable.
New performances devised by chipaumire will take place in the East Tank, 26-28 June 2026. Performance times: 26 June at 7 pm, and 27 and 28 June at 3pm. Book here.