Take the Mantel is excited to share That Never Ending Stage of Grief, an exhibition of work by Zimbabwean-born, Richmond, Virgia-based artist Nyasha Madamombe.

Artist Statement:

This body of work explores grief, memory, and the presence of absence—what is lost yet still felt. Made in the aftermath of losing my parents and my aunt (dad’s sister), these works reflect a negotiation with my former self and a search for a way forward through making.

The works include pieces made during the final time I spent with my mother before her transition to the ancestral plane, alongside others that hold space for the ways I have experienced grief—both personally and through witnessing it in loved ones. 

Also included are personal objects connected to my family, carrying the weight of memory and intimacy. These objects function as quiet markers of presence, honoring what remains when someone is gone. Together, the works create a space for mourning, remembrance, and the ongoing process of learning how to live with loss while continuing to make.