Sekai Machache (b.1989) is a visual artist and curator based in Glasgow, she was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. In 2012, Machache graduated from the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee. Machache uses photography, performance and film to investigate notions of self and her own dual Zimbabwean-Scottish identity. She is interested in the relationship between spirituality, imagination and the role of the artist in disseminating symbolic imagery to provide a space for healing. Her pieces often address complicated histories, and the visibility of Black people in Scotland, and her film and photographs challenge ideas about who belongs in the Scottish landscape. Sekai works with a wide range of media including photography, which plays a crucial role in supporting an exploration of the historical and cultural imaginary.
Sekai is the recipient of the 2020 RSA Morton Award and is an artist in residence with the Talbot Rice Residency Programme 2021-2023. She often works collaboratively and is a founding and organising member of Yon Afro Collective (YAC).
In 2022 Dovecot began collaborating with Machache on a tapestry based on one of her ink drawings. The tapestry, Lively Blue, is currently on display in the exhibition Scottish Women Artists: 250 Years of Challenging Perception, from 28 July 2023– 6 Jan 2024, in the ground floor galleries.
Image: Sekai Machache in front of Lively Blue, tapestry. Credit: Phil Wilkinson
