If there was one word to describe Lennox Makurumidze it would be “storyteller”, because at his core as a creative Lennox just wants to tell stories. His desire is just to share a little bit of how he sees the world through whatever art form he manipulates in that moment. As he sees it Lennox The Poet and Lennox The Photographer are just temporary hats he wears to get to the end goal of telling a story.
I always tell people that I’m not a photographer, neither am I a poet but I’m just a creative who finds different ways of expressing himself through different mediums.
Lennox Tatenda Makurumidze began crafting poetry at the age of 17. This was in a quest to find acceptance among his peer through sharing how he saw the world. Lennox’s poems are ones largely influenced by his experiences. He himself credits being exposed to different sides of life as one of the things that inspire his words.
Poetry has become my home and my motive is to better the world by opening the eyes of people to different aspects of life.
He made his debut performance in 2015 at Flame Sistaz Open Mic Session. Since then Lennox has graced the stage of like the Pop Culture explosion and the National Institute of Allied Arts, where his performance merited First Plus Grade in the Solo Poetry Section.
In December of 2018 Lennox founded the Spoken Word Society at Prince Edward School. The following year he participated at the Shoko Festival Poetry Slam, and in the same year Lennox launched his debut anthology Sowing Kit and Building Blocks was launched at Litfest Harare International Literature Festival. 2020 saw him take second place in the digital poetry slam dubbed Slam-ZW.
My book, Sowing Kit and Building Blocks creatively uses words to encourage the youths to use authentic voices to fight for themselves.
As Lennox The Poet grew, so did Lennox The Photographer. He recalls that it wasn’t long after he discovered a love for poetry that the seeds of a love for photography began grow. As different as the two art forms are, to Lennox they’re very much intertwined. He doesn’t see one or the other but uses whatever feels right in the moment.
Sometimes I tell people that stories have a life of their own and they will tell you what medium they want to be expressed in.
Lennox describes himself as an Afrocentric photographer. His work focuses on concepts of social commentary concepts, photojournalism and African stories. He tries to give light to stories people actually want to talk about. The contemporal nature of his photography is a product of his desire to tell authentic stories. Stories of where he comes from and his experiences in life.
In 2020 Lennox founded “The Harvest Exhibition“, which combined his two passions, photography and poetry. The project, done through the Zimbabwe German Society, aims to show artists the impact of collaboration and to promote storytelling that speaks to the heart of African issues and society.
Lennox sees poets, photographers and other creatives as key to shaping a country’s identity and culture. He wants art forms like photography to be appreciated for the intrinsic value they have beyond what society commonly sees as their value.
Photography is not just a medium of capturing moments but it is a medium to tell stories of nations, of people, of families and history & experiences. It can convey complex ideas and theories.
Often featured on GQ South Africa articles, Lennox slightly laments that as a photographer it is often your subjects are known but almost never. He dreams of acceptance as an artist, and hopes one day creatives won’t have negative connotations such as poverty and drug abuse associated with their careers.
Last year Lennox published a highly acclaimed poem titled “Chingwa”. It was accompanied by astounding visuals and spoke about poverty and equality. In terms of the near future, the poet and photographer hopes to put on a solo exhibition at one of the local galleries.
Lennox Makurumidze is part of ‘Tha Plug In’, a Creative Showcase by the British Council in partnership with #enthuse Magazine.
