EY PROJECTS is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition in China by Zimbabwean-British artist Fungai Benhura, titled "Peel My Heart, Layer by Layer", opening on November 1, 2025, and running through December 15, 2025. The exhibition will systematically showcase the artist’s most representative “archaeological” multi-layered mixed-media paintings, inviting the audience to embark on a visual exploration of construction, concealment, and revelation.

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Fungai Benhura’s artistic practice blurs the boundaries between creation and destruction. His creative process itself is a rhythmic labor: first, he builds rich visual foundations by layering paper, fabric, metal sheets, and oil paint onto the canvas; then, using knives and drills as his tools, he engraves, scrapes, and bores into the solidified surfaces. This “reverse creation” is not merely removal but a form of revelation—stripping away the outer layers to expose the interwoven colors and historical traces hidden beneath, as if conducting an archaeological excavation of time on the canvas.

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The exhibition title, "Peel My Heart, Layer by Layer," draws inspiration from a widely known classic lyric. This reference not only bridges art and everyday life but also personifies the viewing experience. Each work is like a living entity waiting to be heard, inviting the audience to step closer and engage in an intimate visual and emotional dialogue. As Benhura states, his works “do not easily reveal everything”; instead, they aim to offer viewers a lasting experience rich with continuously discoverable details.

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Deeply influenced by jazz, the artist’s creative process resonates with the rhythm and improvisational spirit of the genre. The layering of materials echoes the repetition and variation of melodic themes, while the intervention of blades and drills resembles pauses, syncopation, and improvisational breakthroughs in music—introducing spontaneity within order and deconstructing after accumulation. The seemingly random scratches, holes, and fragmented areas in the compositions act as visual breathing points, guiding the viewer’s gaze between concealment and exposure, much like listening to an old jazz tune unfolding through improvisation.

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Audiences are invited to approach the works and, with their gaze, “peel back” the intricate and textured surfaces. Between the traces of blades and drills, they may explore the emotional core and historical imprints buried within. "Peel My Heart, Layer by Layer" is not only a visual adventure but also an experience of perceptual rhythm—an approach to unspoken truths through the resonance of art and jazz.