Sculptors from Zimbabwe (part 1) My first experience with the study of the Zimbabwean Stone Sculpture during the

period 1950 – 1980

Beeldentuin Maastricht – Heerdeberg

In the neighbourhood of Maastricht in the Netherlands, the city where I live , there is a garden

gallery, called ‘Beeldentuin Maastricht - Heerdeberg’. The owner of this gallery is Mrs. José de

Goede, a former auctioneer and assessor of art and antiques. She has a long time experience in

exhibiting and selling Zimbabwean stones in galleries. Almost every year she travels to Zimbabwe in

order to buy sculptures directly from the sculptors. She knows the sculptors and their families very

well and she invites them, like the late Bernard Matemera and Edward Chiwawa, to give workshops

in her garden gallery.

The garden gallery is in the vicinity of a marl quarry. The quarry forms the outline .The sculptures

are partly arranged on banks near the border of the quarry and partly in a natural garden (Fig 1.1a +

1.1b)

Fig. 1.1a Group of sculptures near the border of the quarry

Fig. 1.1b Group of sculptures in a natural garden

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José de Goede is very committed with the sculptors in Zimbabwe. She founded The Bernard

Matemera Foundation. With help of this foundation she is building schools for children in Zimbabwe

and supports the families of the sculptors, who run out of income by occasion.

As I mentioned before, she invites well-known sculptors from Zimbabwe to her garden gallery to give

workshops. Last year she welcomed Edward Chiwawa with his son McCloud and another junior-

sculptor to teach in her garden gallery.

Book ‘Sculptors from Zimbabwe’ by the late Ben Joosten

This book is published in 2001 by Galerie de Strang, Dodewaard, the Netherlands, and holds a

lexicon of the sculptors of the first generation.

The lexicon is divided into five sections, with sculptors from the:

- Cyrene Mission, headed by Canon Edward Paterson;

- Serima Mission, headed by Father John Groeber;

- Workhop School in Harare, headed by Frank McEwen;

- Nyanga Group, headed by Joram Mariga and

- Tengenenge Sculpture Community, headed by Tom Blomefield.

Ben Joosten was a very conscientious man, he got his information on the stands. As far as he

managed to research, he mentioned from each sculptor his bibliography, his exhibitions and the

collections, as well as where his or her sculptures are saved. So if you have to look up some

information about a sculptor from the first generation, you will find this in the book.

Will someone ever write such a book about sculptors of the second generation?

Mrs. José de Goede donated me, as Ambassador of the ‘Beeldentuin Maastricht-Heerdeberg’, the

book of Ben Joosten and from that moment on I started my study of the development of the

Zimbabwean stone sculpture in the period 1950 – 1980.

Studying the book of Ben Joosten I questioned myself: “Are there any sculptures of sculptors from

the first generation in the Beeldentuin Maastricht-Heerdeberg?” And yes, I found some.

Bernard Matemera

First of all a sculpture from the late Bernard Matemera.

Mrs. José de Goede told me, that Bernard Matemera

sculpted twice in her backyard in the Netherlands before

his death in 2002. I could not believe that the famous

Bernard Matemera, one of the best real Shona sculptors,

would sculpt in a backyard in Holland. Mrs. José de Goede

assured me that Bernard Matemera was a gentle man, who

always kept his word.

Unfortunately he died at a young age (56 years). He was

such a remarkable man, that I will spent more honour to

him at a later moment in my stories.

The sculpture from Bernard Matemera in the garden

gallery Beeldentuin Maastricht – Heerdeberg is a self-

portrait of Bernard Matemera and for a long time it had

been the property of Mrs. José de Goede (Fig.2).

Fig. 2 Self-portrait, sculpted by Bernard Matemera

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If you look at the sculptures from the sculptors of the first

generation, then you will see that most of them have a

gimmick or a trademark. So did Bernard Matemera. When

he sculpted a person, he always sculpted three fingers on

each hand and three toes on each foot.

In his Shona belief there was a myth or legend that in

earlier times there lived a tribe in northern Zimbabwe,

whose people all had three fingers on each hand and three

toes on each foot.

That story is not unlikely. I found on the internet that

slightly North of Zimbabwe there is an isolated tribe, called

the Doma People. Most of them have only two toes, the

outer toes. The toes are developed in a V-shape and people

called them ostrich-feet. The two toes are caused by a

genetic defect.

Bernard Matemera must have been aware of that and

sculpted all his human figures with three fingers and three

toes. That is his trademark (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3 Family, sculpted by Bernard Matemera (1987)

Fanizani Akuda

Another sculptor from the first generation I found in the garden gallery Beeldentuin Maastricht-

Heerdeberg was Fanizani Akuda. When Mrs. José de Goede went to Zimbabwe she met the late

Fanizani Akuda and his wife (Fig. 4).

.

Fig. 4 Mrs. José de Goede (right) meets Fanizani Akuda and his wife

Fanizani Akuda always kept his best stones for her, when she met him for buying stones.

Unfortunately Fanizani Akuda died on February 5, in 2011.

Fanizani Akuda was born in 1932 in Zambia. In 1946 he went to Zimbabwe for a job. In 1967 he

arrived in the sculpture community Tengenenge and asked Tom Blomefield for a job.

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Tom Blomefield gave him the job of digging stones for the sculptors. Some day he asked Fanizani

Akuda to try sculpting, but the latter refused because he was afraid that by sculpting small stone

splinters would get in his eyes.

After a short time Fanizani Akuda changed his mind and when Tom Blomefield repeated his offer, he

accepted the tools for sculpting. In a short time he became a successful sculptor (Joosten 2001: 153).

Fanizani Akuda also had a trademark. He had a lot of humour and when he sculpted a person he

always sculpted closed eyes. He wanted to illustrate prevention that the person might get stone

splinters in his eyes (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5 Small stones, sculpted by Fanizani Akuda and exhibited in the garden gallery Beeldentuin

Maastricht – Heerdeberg

When Fanizani Akuda grew older he sculpted only small sculptures, like Whistlers. The mouths of his

whistlers were made with a bit and he sculpted blown cheeks (see Fig. 5). I think that he had a lot of

humour. I read a story he told someone. When you strike your finger over the mouth of the

whistler, then you will hear a sound. I tried this with the small whistler in Fig. 5, but I did not hear a

sound. Perhaps I did not strike in the right way.

Edward Chiwawa

Another sculptor from whom you will find sculptures in the garden gallery Beeldentuin Maastricht –

Heerdeberg is Edward Chiwawa. He was born in Guruve (Zimbabwe) in 1935 and he belongs to the

Shona people. He started sculpting in Guruve. He brought his sculptures to a stand in the

Tengenenge Sculpture Community. There was also his four years older nephew Henry Munyaradzi

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sculpting. In 1979 the situation in Guruve was dangerous due to the War of Liberation. Edward

Chiwawa moved with his family to Harare. He now lives in Chitungwiza (Joosten 2001: 175).

I had the opportunity to meet Edward Chiwawa in the garden galley Beeldentuin Maastricht –

Heerdeberg, where he sculpted and gave workshops with his son McCloud (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6 Edward Chiwawa daily sculpting in the gallery garden Beeldentuin Maastricht – Heerdeberg

Mrs. José de Goede told me, that every morning at 9.00 am she heard Edward Chiwawa being busy

with sculpting and he did not end until 8.00 pm.

Edward Chiwawa had also a trademark. He mostly sculpted Moonheads, with the same face. When

he made a frame around the sculpture he called it a Sunhead, always the same faces. He also made a

complete ball with that face, and he called it Moonball.

I bought two small sculptures made by Edward Chiwawa and he was so nice to add his signature

under a stone . He was also willing to pose for a photo with me and my wife (Fig. 7)

Fig. 7 Edward Chiwawa posing with me and my wife.

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When I asked Edward Chiwawa the titles of the stones we just had bought, I thought he said

Moonjets. When I told this to Mrs. José de Goede, she said “Edward doesn’t speak English very well,

he means Moonheads”.

Below illustrations of the Sun- and Moonheads from Edward Chiwawa (Fig. 8a + 8b)

Fig. 8a Edward Chiwawa showing a Moonhead

Fig. 8b Rising Sun Head, sculpted by Edward Chiwawa

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Epilogue

So I will end my first impression of the start of my study of the Zimbabwean Stone Sculpture in the

period 1950 – 1980. My paperwork will not be scientific, because I am not a scientist. But it will be an

expression of my true believe in the development of African Art, especially stone sculpting, in a short

period in Zimbabwe.

I will try to find out the circumstances when this development took place and who were the

participants , taking part in this. At the end I hope to get an answer about the question: “Was the

Shona stone sculpting in Zimbabwe authentic and what was their value for the Art World”.

As I am prejudiced in favor of a positive answer on this question I will sometimes be contrary to the

common opinions of the scientists about this matter. I hope they do not mind.

As Ambassador of the garden gallery Beeldentuin Maastricht – Heerdenerg I shall not hesitate to

stipulate their role in the development of the Zimbabwean stone sculpture.

Maastricht, February 16, 2015

Pierre Swillens

REFERENCE

Joosten, Ben

2001 Sculptors from Zimbabwe, the first generation, Galerie de Strang,

Dodewaard, the Netherlands