News From Our Shona Culture

Introduction

Zimbabwe is home to some of the most unique stone sculptures in the world. These sculptures are internationally famous for their intricate design, fine finishing, and natural colouring. All of these pieces are carved from a very rare rock found only in one part of Zimbabwe in Africa, called Serpentine stone. This type of stone is also known as Shona Stone because the people who inhabit this area are known as the Shona people.

The Shona people began carving stone around 700AD and continue to carve today using traditional methods, handed down through generations. Each piece is hand carved using hammer and chisel by a master sculptor who works with an apprentice and sometimes also teaches other students as well.

Shona stone is an abundant material in Zimbabwe

Shona stone is an abundant material in Zimbabwe. It can be found in Zimbabwe and other countries in Africa, including Botswana, South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique. Shona stone is a type of sandstone with a high iron content. Serpentine and granite are also types of shona stones that aren't as common but still used for sculptures by skilled artists.

Shona people began carving stone around 700AD

Stone sculpture is one of the oldest forms of art in Zimbabwe, dating back to the 9th century AD. The Shona people began carving stone around 700AD. Stone was used for basic tools and weapons but also for construction purposes such as building walls and huts.

The term “stone carving” refers to a form of sculpture that uses stone as its medium. It can be carved in two ways: by removing material from the surface with chisels or mallets; or by whittling away at it with abrasives such as sandpaper or files until the desired shape has been achieved

To see if the stone is suitable for carving, a small trial piece is removed from the stone using either a hammer or a power tool such as an angle grinder.

To see if the stone is suitable for carving, a small trial piece is removed from the stone using either a hammer or a power tool such as an angle grinder. If this small piece breaks off or cannot be removed without breaking, the artist will not use that stone. If it is possible to remove smaller pieces without breaking them and they are able to be removed, the artist will continue to remove larger pieces until he finds one that suits his purpose best.

If the trial piece breaks, the stone will not be used for carving.

Once the artist has completed the rough carving of their piece, they will begin to smooth down the surface so that it is even.

Once this has been done, they will remove any excess veins or different colored areas on their sculpture. This is done with a hammer and chisel called an "egg beater" because of its shape. The tool makes a sound like an egg beater as it breaks off pieces from the stone block until all that remains is your completed African stone sculpture!

The artists also repeatedly tap their finished pieces with their hammer as if playing music. This final act is an act of love and gratitude, and is performed by almost all artists regardless of religion or faith.

The final act of any sculpture is tapping it with a hammer. This final act is an act of love and gratitude, and is performed by almost all artists regardless of religion or faith.

The tap that comes from the hammer hitting the stone may be seen as a form of prayer by some. It also symbolizes how pain can be transformed into something beautiful.

Conclusion

African stone sculptures have become one of the most recognizable symbols of Southern Africa, and are a strong reminder that art has been celebrated in this region for centuries. Although these beautiful sculptures are often seen as an export from Africa, they are actually a product of the same deep-rooted culture and traditions from which the Shona people emerged centuries ago.

You will find that these sculptures are not only aesthetically pleasing but also have an interesting story behind them as they were all handmade by Shona artists who live near the mines where this particular type of rock was extracted. These pieces are truly one-of-a-kind!

A Shona sculpture inspired Quincy Jones' album 'The Dude' which is being reissued as a limited edition vinyl.

"One day, Henry Mancini and I were at an art gallery on Wilshire Blvd., and I saw a sculpture that just called out to me. It said, 'Hey man, take me home. I want to be an album, I want to be a tune.' I didn't question it and bought the statue right then and there, because it had an attitude like I'd never seen before. It might sound crazy, but that's what inspired the name of my 1981 album, The Dude, and you can see the silhouette of the sculpture on the album cover!" Jones shares. "I also found out that the statue actually came from a farm in South Africa. The farm wasn't making any profits, so the owner had a sculpting teacher named Fanizani Akuda (a member of the sculptural movement called Shona Sculpture) come and teach his workers how to sculpt, so that they could make a living, and The Dude is one of the sculptures that Fanizani made at the farm! I've had The Dude ever since!! The album went on to be nominated for five Grammy Awards and win three!"

New Quincy Jones Shona Sculpture By David Mushonga

We were very honored to add a Shona Sculpture to Quincy Jones' collection. Greg Spero, pianist / composer and one of the most revered and in demand musicians in the jazz, jazz fusion, instrumental hip-hop and electronic music was inspired to send Quincy Jones a gift and choose the 'Thinking Man' created by David Mushonga from Zimbabwe.

The farm mentioned by Jones - the Tengenenge Arts Centre (Tengenenge loosely means the beginning of the beginning in the Shona language), is an art community founded by the late Tom Blomefield.

Tengenenge is located in the Guruve district in Zimbabwe, has achieved international recognition because of the number of renowned artists that have lived and worked there, and are still living and working there.

Works from the "first generation" of sculptors at Tengenenge joined those which had been created by others who worked at the National Gallery of Rhodesia, where the then director, Frank McEwen organized exhibitions both nationally and internationally. Bloomfield encouraged many individual artists from a number of countries including Angola, Malawi and Mozambique to join the local community of mainly Shona ethnicity and was unconcerned whether they had formal training.

And would you believe, David Mushonga is at Tengenenge?

David Mushonga's Art Is Internationally Acclaimed

The "Thinking Man" has the distinctive Mushonga style, sculptured in Serpentine stone, which once polished, gives it a rich, dark luster.

David was born in 1953 in Chiweshe Area, Centenary District, Zimbabwe. He completed standard six at St Alberts Mission school in 1967. David is a full-time artist and specializes in human forms and animals.

The unique facial features with big full lips, big nose, and eyes are a unique signature on all his pieces which he says depicts the spirit of Africa and all that is African, in wildlife as well as human beings.

He has sold his pieces to collectors in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

When you buy a Moyo piece, you are not just buying stone, but your own piece of history, a piece of modern contemporary art with an African flair. ~ Stef McDonald, owner of Artistic Africa Gallery

How Artistic Africa Is Supporting Zimbabwe Artist Community Suffering During COVID

Artistic Africa, together with help from collectors Robert and Amanda Brock of the United States, have provided significant help to the artist community in Zimbabwe during this time of crises.

Since May 2020, and during lock down, Artistic Africa and the Brock family have been contributing cash each month directly to the artists.