Page 104 - Zimbabwe Stone Sculpure 1st Edition

ZIMBABWE STONE SCULPTURE
“Whimsical interpretations of animals are the main themes in his sculpture. He likes to use wavy lines and symbols on his pieces to show movement.”
TENDAI MUTINHIMA
“Sculpting allows me to describe my everyday life and thoughts,” says Tendai whose family and friends give him ideas and encouragement, in particular his wife, Primrose, who is immensely proud that he has become such a good artist. Tendai, who was born in Murewa in 1982, is still a young man but has come a long way from his early rural roots.
He is a quiet, intense and very passionate person when working but always friendly and helpful when you engage with him. An artist called Wencelous Marufu originally employed him to help with washing and polishing his sculptures and when he died another artist called Fabian Madamombe took him on. Fabian was the person who really taught him the more intricate techniques of his craft and gave him the opportunity to try sculpting on his own.
Tendai started displaying his work at Stone Dynamics Gallery over 10 years ago and has proved to be very successful because his work is interesting, theatrical and joyful.
Whimsical interpretations of animals are the main themes in his sculp- ture. He likes to use wavy lines and symbols on his pieces to show movement. His favourite stone is black serpentine because he feels it has a good finish and the black colour does not hide the intricacies of his work.
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