Page 89 - Zimbabwe Stone Sculpure 1st Edition

LAZARUS TAKAWIRA
LAZARUS TAKAWIRA
Lazarus Takawira is a big, imposing man and his personality and emo- tions are on a similar scale. One of the first things you notice about Lazarus is his large hands and he uses them when talking to express his thoughts and feelings. It is therefore not surprising when you view his sculpture and notice it is usually huge and heavy and large hands are a significant feature in many of them. He loves women because his mother played a big role in his life and many of his sculptures depict different facets of the African woman.
He was born in 1952 in the town of Nyanga in the Eastern Highlands. His father was a policeman and after school he also joined the police. However, he felt that he was working for nothing so he decided to join his older brothers, John and Bernard, who were part of the original National Gallery Workshop School in the 1960s. At first he did not like it because he was “constantly dirty” but Joram Mariga, who had helped his brother John, also helped him and he started to enjoy himself and felt he was connecting to his roots.
His sculptures are anecdotal and mainly describe his love of women, particularly his wife Cecilia. He says his wife, who he describes as “powerful”, is now his curator and gives him truthful feedback on his work. Cecilia says she loves waking up every day and looking at his beautiful sculptures and she has enjoyed travelling with Lazarus and meeting many new people.
Lazarus, in conjunction with artists like Richard Mteki, is considered part of the first generation of artists. There are not many of these sculptors left now, so the knowledge and anecdotes they pass on to younger generations must never be lost.
Despite having some bad experiences with art dealers over the years, Lazarus has been selling his sculptures at Stone Dynamics Gallery for 30 years now because he tells me that I am “different” and “treat him with respect” and “hide nothing from him”. He is a big man with a big heart and immense talent.
Lazarus was presented to Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Zimbabwe in 1991 for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.
“He loves women because his mother played a big role in his life and many of his sculptures depict different facets of the African woman.”
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