Infinities Commission unveiled at Tate: nora chipaumire: gadzi
Tate Modern unveiled gadzi, an original installation by nora chipaumire, the recipient of the Infinities Commission 2026, a free to attend annual commission showcasing the limitless experimentation of contemporary art.
Drawing on the legends, stones, and soil of her native Zimbabwe, multi-award-winning international artist nora chipaumire, has created an immersive, multi-sensory environment that brings together sculpture, sound, and moving image. Rooted in the legends of the Shona people, gadzi takes its name from gadziguru, the oldest and most powerful female presence, a generative force tied to land, ancestry, and creation.
Born in 1965 in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, chipaumire makes work and creates ideas that straddle multiple imaginaries: African, black, woman. Her artistic practice ranges from opera, dance, installation and film, channeling a punk resistance to each medium. The artist has transformed Tate Modern’s iconic East Tank into a sculptural and sonic environment that echoes the ancient landscapes of Zimbabwe. Defined by granite outcrops, red soil, and vast skies, the work takes shape as a ‘living and breathing organism’, constructed by hand and evoking a sense of enduring, haunted resilience. “There’s no answer to what I’m doing,” chipaumire reflects. “It’s a gesture I’m offering, a gesture to save the energy of the landscape, to move this energy, and to protect it.”
The installation creates space for performance and features a custom-built dub sound system embedded within sculptural elements, activating the space through vibration as much as sound. Sound and movement are both integral to chipaumire’s practice, and for gadzi she draws on influences from dub and its punk subcultures, as well as Chimurenga music, all of which are associated with revolution and resistance. Drawing connections between the low-frequency sonic force of dub, which has African roots, and the geological and spiritual presence of stone, the work imagines how, in Zimbabwe, “God was heard through the rocks.” gadzi invites audiences to engage physically: to move through the structures, peer into their depths, sit on the speakers, and feel sound resonate through their bodies. Accompanying film elements introduce shifting light and visions of feminine presence within nature, extending the work’s exploration of land, spirit, and perception.
Main Image: Installation photograph of Infinities Commission 2026: nora chipaumire: gadzi © Tate Photography (Lucy Green).