Committed to increasing public awareness and engagement with Sufi arts and culture in the United States and abroad

Troy Makaza’s work is a conscious reflection on the conditions of life today in Zimbabwe, both as a human and as a political subject. Drawing from cultural, sociopolitical, and personal histories, the artist transforms silicone and pigment to paint, going on to pipe, cast, and weave the viscous substance into his enigmatic compositions. 

Crafting materiality and storytelling into a distinctive artistic language, the artist’s material process models his creative concerns. As the silicone transitions from plastic, to paint, to sculpture, to tapestry, the artwork’s narrative shifts from personal, to political, to existential.  

This Salon explores the artist’s inspirations and influences, as well as the ways in which his Shona heritage and Sufism shaped his creative process in the making of Mutiwaora (The tree is rotten), a monumental silicone painting-sculpture created specifically for the exhibition Un Ciel intérieur.

Continuing the ongoing series spotlighting the exhibiting artists of Un Ciel intérieur (An inner Sky) . MACS MTO Inaugural Exhibition, AFSACK is honored to welcome multidisciplinary artist Pinaree Sanpitak in conversation with Alexandra Baudelot, Director of Musée d’Art et de Culture Soufis MTO, for “Reciprocal Vessels: The Body and the Inner Journey.” In this discussion, Baudelot introduces us to the visionary artist as they reflect on the body as a symbolic site where physical and metaphorical spaces intersect.

Artwork caption: Detail of The Affairs of Serving II, 2022, acrylic, ink, pencil, fabric, paper on canvas. Courtesy of Pinaree Sanpitak and Ames Yavuz. Photo by Aroon Permpoonsopol.