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Wonder Mazhindu Bumhira'Family' original signed Shona stone sculpture by Wonder Mazhindu Bumhira2004
2004
About the Item
'Family' is an original stone sculpture signed by Zimbabwean artist Wonder Mazhindu Bumhira. The composition is an example of the family groupings, with each figure arranged as though they were a flower in a bouquet, that are so desired from Shona sculptors. Though the figures are ambiguous and stylized, the figures are arranged using a hierarchy of scale: the matriarch (perhaps a grandmother) towers over the other members of her family, with her children and grandchildren below. Thusly, sculptures like this present a vision of family structure and unity.
opal stone (serpentine)
36 x 13.5 x 11 inches
signed 'W. Maz' along base
Overall good condition. Please contact us for a complete condition assessment.
Born on January 17th, 1982 in East Mashonaland, Harare, Wonder (often spelled Wander) is the fifth born of a family of 6 children. The family is made up of four boys and two girls. He comes from the Chihota communal area in Marondera and belongs to the Shona tribe. He did his primary and secondary education at St. Hughes School in Seke. Wonder completed his schooling in 1999 and never thought to be an artist but discovered that it was in his blood. His inspiration comes from his brother, Picket Mazhindu Bumhira, who was his teacher.
Taught to carve as a young boy by his brother, Picket Mazhindu, Wonder completed his O Levels in 1999 and decided to take up carving full time. Since then, he has successfully focused on creating his own unique style. He mainly enjoys carving abstract figures and birds.
A very skilled sculptor, he is comfortable carving the harder varieties of stone available to him in Zimbabwe, his favorites being springstone and opaline.
"I am proud to be a Shona and that the art movement is enlightening the world on our myths and beliefs," he says. "The carving movement has grown to where we are now into the fifth generation of carvers. I love art and I am willing to teach others to carve. All you have to be is very disciplined and love hard work and art. I never thought I would be an artist, but it is in our family. I believe I was born poor but rich in mind and I love my chosen path."
Wonder's sculpture has been exhibited throughout Germany, USA, Holland, United Kingdom, China, Korea, Australia and countries of Africa.
Shona artists and crafts people have been working in different media for generations. These include paintings, pottery, basket ware, wood carvings, and sculpture done in metal as well as the stone carvings. While there is not a long standing tradition of sculpture in what is now Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia), stone carvings dating from the 15th century were seen in Great Zimbabwe, an excavated temple near Bulawayo. Most of the artifacts from this location have been moved to museums in Cape Town, South Africa or London.
It is generally agreed that Zimbabwean stone sculpture as seen today began during the late colonial period of the 1950's and 1960's. During this period the artists and artisans depicted many of the traditional Shona and other tribal spiritual myths.
Out of all the nations in Africa, the large varieties and abundant supplies of rock formations present throughout the Zimbabwe landscape provide artists with a medium for sculpture and carvings unique to their country. The Shona art sculpture of Zimbabwe combines the wonderful varieties presented by the stone with images drawn both from reality and abstract symbolism.
Much of the stone used by Shona artists is quarried in areas which are adjacent or quite near the villages where the work is created. Often the land on which the stone is found is owned by the village or the local artists. The artists use stone such as Serpentine (somewhat old, having been formed about 2.6 billion years ago), with more than 200 color variations. The hardest and darkest of the Serpentine varieties is black, commonly known as Springstone or Africa stone. Less seen is Lepidolite, with its beautiful pale mauve coloration; and the very hard Verdite, found mostly in darker shades of green but with other variations as well.
Commonly referred to as Rapoko stone in Zimbabwe, Steatite is a natural soft stone that falls under the general category of soapstone. Rapoko is found on every continent in the world with the possible exception of Antarctica. Its remarkable qualities have made this stone one of the most widely used minerals on earth. Over 10 million years old, Rapoko is a natural mineral, prized since ancient times for its durability, workability, beautiful character and ability to retain and radiate heat and resist chemicals. Native cultures, the world over, have carved Rapoko/Steatite into vessels, art objects, memorial and cultural items. Carved items have been found in the tombs of Pharaohs, in the igloos of the far north, in temples and palaces of China and India, in the mountains and river valleys of the Americas and the arid plains of Africa. There is a manmade ceramic product, also called Steatite, which uses the natural Rapoko stone as one of its raw materials but has no other connection to the skillful efforts of talented Shona and other African artists.
The wonderful natural character of stone is used both in its rough cut and textured state, or heated and burnished to a high gloss to reveal rich greens, browns, blacks and grays. The hardness, shape, density and quantity used of serpentine, verdite, sandstone, granite, steatite and other stones define the ultimate presentation of completed Shona art sculptures and carvings.
- Creator:Wonder Mazhindu Bumhira (1982)
- Creation Year:2004
- Dimensions:Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Width: 13.5 in (34.29 cm)Depth: 11 in (27.94 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Overall good condition. Please contact us for a complete condition assessment.
- Gallery Location:Milwaukee, WI
- Reference Number:
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