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Zim dollars were abandoned in 2009, after
inflation caused by rampant money printing under the late
President Robert Mugabe erased everyone's savings and pushed
millions into poverty.
Most bills ended up in the trash, but Zimbabwean visual artist
Prudence Chimutuwah has found value in the unloved old bank
notes - by using them to make art.
Chimutuwah wants Zimbabweans to look beyond the ugly history of
the inflation - considered by the International Monetary Fund as
the worst of any peacetime country - to see something beautiful
in the bills. And, in the process, perhaps recover from the
trauma of that time.
"A lot of people, when they see the old bank notes, their
reaction most of the time (is to) get angry," said Chimutuwah.
"I am trying ... for people to see the beauty of these old bank
notes. So, when someone looks at this artwork they go like
'whoa' and then they forget the pain this thing has caused."
Her paintings capture the daily lives of women, shown dancing,
cooking or in bright and elegant dress, with the old Zim dollar
notes stuck on with glue to form part of the image.
Her figures are mostly blue, which she described as "a symbol of
strength and dominance".
In one painting, a woman pours a liquid from a calabash, which
is made up of pieces of brown 1,000 and 50 billion Zimbabwe
dollar notes. In another, a woman wears a mask and blouse made
from purple 500 million Zimbabwe dollar notes.
(Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Tim Cocks and Alex
Richardson)
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