The Zimbabwean economy grew by 5.9% in 2010, but that was after a decade of contraction in which formal unemployment rose to 80%. Millions left to seek work elsewhere (it is estimated that a quarter of the country's population fled the country), with many moving to South Africa.
But while South Africa may have the continent's largest economy, it is also one of the world's most unequal societies, and resentment to the newcomers soon began to build among South Africa's poor, cumulating in the xenophobic attacks in which 62 Zimbabweans were killed and more than 100,000 displaced.
Things have calmed down since that horror, but the tension and resentment - the need to find a scapegoat - hasn't entirely disappeared. The "Robot artists" - a group of Zimbabwean artists in Cape Town - experience some of this resentment in the comments of some passers-by as they try to sell their artworks at traffic lights ("Robot" is slang for traffic lights). They also risk arrest and the confiscation of their art.
The African Cartel is the platform for showcasing and selling the work of these artists, as well as for telling their stories.
You can buy artworks and get to know more about each artist in the collective by visiting their website. You can also keep up with them on Facebook or Twitter.
AFRICAN CARTEL ONLINE
African Cartel website
Facebook
Twitter
