Mixed media sculpture: metal framework with welded metal elements, digital print on textile

Born from a collaboration between Romanian artist Stefan Fuga and Zimbabwean artist Tinashe Chipawe, Heirs to Manhood reflects on the shared weight of ideals tied to masculinity across cultures. Both artists grew up within unspoken rules: to stay “strong”, hide emotion and carry struggle without words. Though shaped by different histories and geographies, the expectations were remarkably alike, passed down as markers of worth and belonging.

Two sculptural pieces stand as symbols of that inheritance: metal frameworks enclosing layered fabrics printed with portraits of each artist’s subject. The faces overlap, bleed and fragment, revealing the strain between the individuals and the role imposed upon them. Floating yet rigid, the metal frames are edged with warning, mirroring how tradition defends itself from change.

The work becomes both confession and confrontation, asking what is lost when men are taught not to feel and whether strength must truly come at the cost of vulnerability.