Emotive Art: An Analysis of Graffiti from Selected Secondary Schools in Bikita-Matsai District, Zimbabwe

This study makes an in-depth analysis of graffiti from selected secondary schools in the Bikita-Matsai district in Zimbabwe that includes but is not limited to trusses, office doors, chalkboards, classroom and toilet walls. The Study focuses on the words and drawings in these spaces. The emphasis on the importance of contextualisation of text is used to bring to the fore different contextual meanings of graffiti words. For this study, the psychologically oriented Historical-Philological Semantics theory and Dadaism were adopted. The psychological aspect of the Historical-Philological Semantics theory helps analyse different emotions imprinted on the walls as secondary school learners emotively write on the surfaces. Art without rules is also analysed from a Dadaism perspective. The study makes use of both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. The research found that there is a symbiotic relationship between graffiti in secondary schools and the emotions of the authors who are secondary school learners. Graffiti has been proven by the findings to be a sanctuary which learners use to preserve and make known their inner emotions that are brewed during the learning and teaching process.