The Crown!

Moffat Takadiwa's exhibition "The Crown!" at Semiose, Paris, features works constructed from discarded everyday objects, primarily keyboard keys and afro combs, collected from the dumpsites of Harare. These materials, sourced from the Mbare district, a recycling hub, are meticulously arranged into circular and repetitive patterns. The exhibition explores themes of post-colonialism in Africa, the politics of Black hair, consumerism, and resistance. The afro combs serve as archives of social, political, and spiritual history, reflecting African traditions and imposed colonial self-modeling.

Crowns, fashioned from keyboard keys, caps, and combs, symbolize authority and power while remaining rooted in the Black experience. Takadiwa's work transforms these remnants of Western consumption into "post-industrial textiles," highlighting the tensions between global production and local identity. The exhibition critiques extractivism and the journey of objects from debris to preciousness, suggesting the possibility of change through collective effort and refusal, rebuilding structures from the vestiges of globalization.