Lionel Mbayiwa

Lionel Tazvitya Mbayiwa was born, bred and educated in rural Mhondoro, Mubaira under Chegutu District in Zimbabwe in 1982. Born in a family of seven children, he attended Primary and High School in the rural area before moving to the capital Harare in 1999.

Lionel did not attend any formal art school but was taught and influenced by his elder brother, Hugh Hatitye Mbayiwa who was an art teacher then and got help from his brother’s friends who were already in the art industry. In 2005 he participated in a group show for the first time at Gallery Delta in Harare as a young artist, he exhibited with them until 2009. During those years he was also exhibiting at the Zimbabwe National Gallery.

It was in 2009 that he left the country because, having been married and rewarded with his son Kupa, parental responsibilities chased him away from home as the political and economic instability of his motherland could not offer him anything. Lionel and his family crossed the border into South Africa and came to Cape town, where he worked as a bar man to provide for his family, but art was still his passion. In 2010 the couple’s daughter Rudo was born, so Lionel is a father of two.

Rewinding back around 2001 he got a film camera from his big brother Hugh, which he was using as a business asset taking photos and charging people. That’s when he fell in love with photography, but there was no space to explore the art. As the technology was not as advanced as today, the film was precious and too expensive to just experiment with.

Since 2018 Lionel Mbayiwa presented his talent in solo shows or group exhibitions in popular galleries and art fairs in South Africa and Zimbabwe, showing paintings, drawings and photography.

As the Matchbox Jahresgabe Edition Lionel created a range of ink drawings on paper, telling stories of cattle representing himself and his family. Some of the images tell the story of the journey from home to an uncertain future.

To follow him on Facebook: Lionel Mbayiwa
Instagram: Baba Kupa