Picket Mazhindu Bumhira Sculptures

'Me and My Family' is an original opal serpentine sculpture signed by the Zimbabwean artist Picket Mazhindu Bumhira. Family groupings like this are a beloved theme seen in the works ...

"Protected Spirits" is a sculpture carved from Opal stone signed Picket, who is part of the Shona tribe in Zimbabwe. It depicts two abstracted figures, presumably spirits, seeming to float upwards. 38 1/2" x 13 1/2" x 7 1/4" Picket Mazhindu Bumhira was born 1968 in the Seke communal lands about 5 km. from Harare, Zimbabwe. Picket had a passion for art from childhood and during his school days he loved drawing and painting. He was very inspired by sculpture of the late John Takawira, one of Zimbabwe's first generation of Shona sculptors, whom he met when Picket went to Chapungu. They then agreed to work together. Later he started to sculpt on his own. Some of his works made the headlines in the newspapers, including "Spirit of Love," which was exhibited in Victoria Falls during Arts Gala. He exhibited in the UK and in Germany. He was among the sculptors who went to China for an exhibition at the Poverty Reduction Summit. Picket likes working on springstone and opal and especially enjoys making abstracts. 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...