ZIMBABWE - Mary Kaundo (b.1966) joined an art workshop given by Ilse Noy in 1988. She has used cornmeal paste resist work on cloth (“sadza painting”) ever since. Accustomed to hardships, having lost her father during Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle when she was seven, Mary is a single mother of four boys and supports her family through her art. Her charming pieces are extremely busy, teaming with patterns and flora. People and huts punctuate the compositions. Mary’s work lies somewhere between Bali and Haiti in feeling and in palate, and each piece conveys a message. A Great Friendship underlines the importance of female friends that will last throughout your life. Barika tells us about the perils of polygamy, a common practice in rural areas in Zimbabwe. Learning for Marriage is a manual for a happy future while Tears of Joy or Sorrow speaks to the problems of AIDS and the thinking that the traditional healer can take care of anything.