Deep struggle is part of a series of sculptures and performances that Hwati has been working on since 2018. These works are centered around the idea of cultural resistance. The piece produced at El Espacio in particular, is a nod to the history of ‘Deep City Records’ the first black owned record label in Miami. The label was born in the mid 60’s, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement and at a time that shaped black politics and culture in the United States. Together with other movements like Motown in Detroit, spaces such as this were created and sustained by a deep struggle to negotiate black socio-political space through fostering a culture of sound. At about the same time, Sub Saharan Africa was experiencing a political and cultural chapter known as the “ winds of change,” a period when most of its nations gained freedom via liberation struggle. The artist is fascinated by the idea of how struggle can be both a depleting and beautiful process at the same time. The previous work in this series is called Ngoromera a Shona word that means ‘to fight ‘or ‘struggle’, is part of the UMMA (University of Michigan Museum of Art) collection and explores an attenuated militant aesthetic using objects such as spears trumpets and bugles altering and modifying them to produce new sounds. Interested in the beautifully awkward and uncanny results that can come out of a struggle, the artist intentionally makes the instruments harder to play.