The Shona People

Ukama means family unity in the Shona language. In tribal life there was an obligation to help all members of the family. This caring philosophy where each member of the family looks after one another was not limited to immediate family members but extends even to distant family relations. This reverence of the family has helped keep the Shona people together through centuries of hardship which continue to this day.

The movement and circular appearance of each of these family unity sculptures expresses the interconnectedness of each member - without whom the circle would be broken. The embrace of each member symbolizes the continuation of love (Rudo) for the Shona show love more by deeds than by words.

About the Inspiration...

When creating an original sculpture, the artist begins by searching for an appropriate rough stone. Typically, this means a trip to the quarry with pickaxe and crowbar in hand. Some artists spend painstaking hours in search of one particularly powerful stone spirit. Sometimes, spiritual ancestors speed up the process and an artist stumbles upon a stone whose beauty is readily apparent, as it has been broken in a pre-determined way.
Even once the stone has been selected, the artists can never be sure of the beauty that lies hidden beneath the dull surface. Upon return to the work place, the artists re-examines the stone. No sketches or drawing are made. Shona sculptors, as do many indigenous artists, believe that everything has a spirit. The stone will dictate to the artists the subject that will emerge from within. Some artists even speak of inspiration in their dreams.

The color, contours and striations guide the artist’s tools - enabling him to release the spirit trapped in its core. The art that finally emerges inspires strong feelings for viewers from diverse cultural origins because it is thought to originate from our collective unconscious.

About the Stone...

Zimbabwe is blessed with a wealth of stones suitable for carving. Small deposits are scattered around the country such as in the Nyanga Mountains located in northeast corner, near the Mozambiquan border. The majority of deposits are found near the Great Dyke.

Zimbabwe is home to one of the oldest parts of the continental crust. For 2 billion years, layers of rock were twisted and folded, split and eroded creating one of the most remarkable rock formations in the world: The Great Dyke. The dyke was formed as molten rock slowly forced its way up from the Earth’s core. This 3-12 km wide volcanic ridge begins near Guruve, north of the capital Harare. It then meanders 530 km southwest through the heart of the country, making it the longest linear mass of volcanic rock in the world. The most southerly point is about 100 km shy of the South African and Botswanan borders.

These billion-year-old hills are imbued with precious metals and minerals that support the Zimbabwean economy. The Great Dyke was even believed to be the repository of the wealth of King Solomon’s legendary Ophir. Although the dyke never yielded the dreamed-of mountains of gold, it does contain one of the world’s largest reserves of chrome and platinum.

About the Process...

Shona artists collect most of their stone by hand using pickaxe, crowbars, punch, hammer and shovels. The harder the stone, the longer and more arduous the process. Typically, artists use stones from quarries either in their own or from neighboring villages. The village or the local artists may own this land. Upon a special request, an artist might travel farther afield to find a stone not found in their quarry.

If you wander through an artists work area you’ll find a collection adzes, mallets, chasing hammers, punches, chisels, rasps, files and sandpaper. The difficulty in getting these simple tools (either due to financial constraints or the current political/economic climate) has forced many artists to put their creative minds to work for a practical purpose. More often than not tools will be cleverly fashioned out of found parts and scrap metal. Tools that might normally be discarded are given a second life with new handles fastened with a twine-like rubber. Sometimes tools will even be modified to meet a carver’s particular technique. The use of hand tools is partly out of choice but mainly out of necessity. A small percentage of well-established artists, usually who carve very large realistic sculptures, will use power tools to add fine details.

Once the artist is familiar with the composition, inclusions and potential faults in the stone, the work begins. The first step it to get it into a rough shape of the final sculpture. An adze or a mallet and punch are both effective to break off large chunks in a relatively short time.

The artist will switch to chasing hammers, rasps, and files for more refined lines and details as the rough shape begins to emerge. Once the dents left from the hammer and the ridges left from the rasps begin to disappear, the artist will move to a water and sandpaper hand sanding process. Small sculptures will be submersed in water and slow circular strokes will render its rough texture smooth. Gradually the stone becomes smoother and the grit become more and more fine. Before the advent of sandpaper artists relied on river sand and a rag to sand the surface smooth. This time consuming process is often assigned to apprentices to help them develop an appreciation of the diverse properties inherent in the stone.

The final step is to draw out the stone’s rich deep luster and colorful venation. The stone is heated to allow the stone's porous veneer to expand. Depending on the circumstances, either an open fire or a hand held paraffin heater is used. The stone is removed from the heat source and either a carnauba plant wax or beeswax is applied. Once cooled, the sculpture will be buffed with rags to reveal the beauty that had once been hidden by a dull dusty cloak. The hardness, density, mineral content and shape of the stone will determine the final look