In memory of Mazola

Great Huts Eco Resort, an Afrocentric, eco-friendly hotel perched on the cliffs above Boston Bay in Portland, is filled with art – most notably the work of the late Mazola wa Mwashighadi, known simply as Mazola in artistic circles, who was murdered two weeks ago in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth.

In honour of the Kenya-born Jamaican sculptor, painter, jeweller, philosopher and poet, Great Huts has renamed its lobby “to honour his legacy in a lasting and meaningful way”.

“Today, we honour the life and spirit of Mazola, a truly gifted artist, a beloved friend, and Great Huts’ very first resident artist. From the moment he joined our community, Mazola filled our space with colour, rhythm, and a creativity that was uniquely his. He didn’t just create art here, he lived it, sharing stories, laughter, wisdom, and countless unforgettable moments with all of us,” Great Huts says.

“We are proud to rename our lobby, The Mazola Gallery, a space that will forever reflect his artistry, his history, and the deep love we have for him. Mazola, thank you for the memories, the masterpieces, and the magic you gifted us. Your light will live on in every corner of Great Huts. Rest in power, dear friend.”

Mazola was primarily a fusion sculptor, assembling discarded objects into works that were abstract yet bold, probing, reflective and often deliberately provocative. His collection at Great Huts is the largest held in any single location.

In a December 20, 2019 article headlined ‘Mazola transforms pieces from junk to gem’, The Gleaner wrote: “The artist Mazola spends his life collecting junk from all over the place, and he is not afraid to be seen rummaging through a garbage heap, removing things that are no longer of use to the people who threw them away.”

The Gleaner asked him, “So, people might think you are mad?” “I am mad,” he replied, without any attempt to smile. “It is the sort of madness that drives him to turn these ‘useless’ pieces of refuse into thought-provoking, jaw-dropping, ultra-creative works of art,” the newspaper added.

From 1991 to 1994 Mazola pursued a diploma in fine arts (drawing and painting) at the Creative Art Centre in Nairobi. He later received a Commonwealth Art and Craft Fellowship, which he undertook at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, specialising in sculpture.

He staged several solo exhibitions and installations at venues including Red Bones Blues Café, Olympia Gallery, Church Lane in downtown Kingston, Harmony Hall in St Ann, and The Playground, his leased space at Craig Hill in east rural St Andrew. His commissions included work for the Totem of Heritage at the University of Technology, Jamaica, and book illustrations for Jacaranda Designs in Nairobi.

His pieces also appeared in numerous group exhibitions: Art of Sculpture at Mutual Life Gallery; Two to the Power of Three at the Simon Bolivar Auditorium in Trinidad and Tobago; Eight Kenyan Artists in Milan and Rome; the Ninth Asian Art Biennale in Bangladesh; the Scotland Africa Travelling Exhibition in Edinburgh and London; Young Generation at Mutual Life Gallery in Kingston; the Royal Overseas League’s 11th and 12th Annual Exhibitions in London; the Kenya Arts Festival at the National Museum of Kenya in Nairobi; and shows in Barbados, the United States and Antigua.

Over the years Mazola received several awards, including the Commonwealth Art and Craft Fellowship for the Caribbean region, the Savannah Gallery Prize at the Royal Overseas League’s 11th Annual Exhibition, the Juror’s Prize at Tea Glorious Tea at Revolution Gallery in Kingston, and third place at Art Africa in Kampala, Uganda, in 1994.

Speaking to The Gleaner about his final solo exhibition, The Garden of Xaymaca, held at The Playground in 2022, he said, “We are destroying paradise, slowly, but surely, environmentally and spiritually.”

“Now, through the pieces, he is asking what we are going to do about the damage already done, why we continue to kill or destroy, why we are still crying, why we are still making other people cry, how we are going to sort out the mess we are in. Thus, it is time to heal, the pieces are saying indirectly. They are subliminally asking for an end to the trouble in the Garden of Xaymaca,” The Gleaner commented.

“In the end, Mazola told us that the future will be brighter and that love and friendship, and finding beauty in ordinary objects were truth and art,” said Dr Paul Rhodes, one of the principals at Great Huts.

Mazola wa Mwashighadi, born in Taita-Taveta district, Kenya, is survived by his son, Rodney, and daughter, Melody, in Kenya, and by his daughter, Maguva, in Jamaica, where he had lived since 1997.

editorial@gleanerjm.com