Pikicha Gallery Helensvale, created fond memory pictures for art fans as Hope Masike launched in style her book tour during the weekend.
The multi-talented artist serenaded fans with mixed fray of mbira playing, music, paintings, poetry and short story readings.
Masike entertained her fans with readings from her three books which she will be carrying across provinces, Ask me Again, Dzevabvezera and Die with Me being her latest published work.
In coming up with Die with Me, Masike creates an electric charged environment were readers to the poems can visualise the horror they have heard or seen on film and the tense atmosphere will be coming from the illusions of ‘horror poems by Hope Masike’ as she had envisaged.
So as to be horrific as she could, Masike said she went to extremes of following Tilda Moyo prison interviews.
She quoted a facebook interview by Moyo as an influence to ‘Die with Me’, were a convict was narrating how they used (juju) black magic so as to get away with their horrendous crimes.
Masike goes to length in reducing those narratives into fascinating horrific poems.
‘Dzevabvezera’, a shona anthology specifically written for adults tries to bridge the void created by African Tradition which did not write anything about sexual education.
Sexual education was orally taught by aunties and uncles and there is possibility of missing out on crucial issues as time elvoves and Masike had to be the gatekeeper of sexual educational culture through her book.
In putting up ‘Dzevabvezera’, Masike had to do some thorough resarch with institutions which are involved in culture around Murombedzi area.
One of its kind book launch, which was not only a launch but a launch to be followed by tour of several provinces of the country as the songstress and poet will be taking her work closer to her fans was quiet an event.
The environment at Pikicha Gallery was intimate as fans besides sharing the breathing space with their icon, they had the chance to have the platform to discuss with their icon through a question and answer segment.
“We creatives are creators who closed the creator himself”, Masike responded to a question which asked if artists could go into spiritual universe to come up with masterpiece work as her work is usually quality personified.
Masike’s answer was referring to both biblical and several religious allegories that God (the Creator) was no longer creating anything new but creatives were now carrying over from were the Creator left.
Inorder to create, there is need for one to enter a supernatural realm so as to be super perfect, failure to do that one will remain an ordinary creative.
Most of the instrument players, so as to have unique work sometimes need to go into the metaphysical world through the natural safe way and should not be aided by drugs, alcohol or anything not good explained Masike
Masike revealed to her fans that for music, she went to Zimbabwe School of music although she perfected it on her own.
For paintings, Masike is a Harare Polytechnic graduate in fine art.
“Writing poems and stories, I never went to school for that, maybe I had good English teachers at school”, said Masike.
Masike said that she does not plan on the type of platform to use for a certain piece of work but it just come naturally to her.
“Sometimes it start as poem, goes on to paintings, I do not have a sequence of potraying my art but it just come naturally”, Masike said.
Her not to miss books are on for sale and people can reach her through Hope Masike social media handles.