Top Five: nora chipaumire

TATE ETC. Tell us the most interesting thing you’ve learnt recently.

NORA CHIPAUMIRE I don’t know if there is just one thing. I learn each day to get up and spend the day digging for positive vibes. I’m trying every day to be elastic. I keep an open heart and try to roll with the punches – the punches being challenges – and keep hope alive.

ETC. Which work of art do you keep returning to?

NC I think of nature as a work of art, and I return to it endlessly. My obsession with Zimbabwe’s landscape is lifelong. Beyond nature, in the world of movement, I return to the German dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch and her dance piece Café Müller 1978 as a source of learning and inspiration. Something about Pina and her work speaks to me, and I think the whole world agrees.

ETC. What do you do to relax?

NC If relaxation is inactivity, then I don’t do that. I question the idea of who has the luxury to relax. Running and swimming are the physical activities where I feel most expansive energetically. I feel the fullness of life most when I’m in motion; it’s where I find most of my ideas.

ETC. Who are your heroes?

NC My mother, African women, black liberators, thinkers. I like people who stand for something, believe in something, and fight for something.

ETC. What record gets you dancing?

NC Linton Kwesi Johnson! Anything by the man is relevant, but my favourite is Inglan is a Bitch (1980).

^{Infinities Commission: nora chipaumire, Tate Modern, 3 June – 26 August}

^{nora chipaumire is an artist who was born in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. She makes work and creates ideas that straddle multiple imaginaries – African, black, woman.}

^{Supported by Glass Castle Foundation}