Forty-eight-year-old sculptor Enkos Madzimbiri has not allowed the small town mentality often associated with operating from small towns to hinder him from dreaming big. He is one of the 15 Mvurwi Arts Centre founding members and also serves as its secretary. The 15 sculptors have the ambitious dream of turning the arts centre into an area much bigger and better than the once famed Tengenenge Arts Centre in Guruve.
BY CHIPO MASARA
Having started stone sculpturing way back in 1990 — with the late sculptor Brighton Sango as his main source of inspiration — Madzimbiri believes he has come of age.
“I am much more into abstract art as that allows me to speak to the stone. The beauty about abstract sculpturing is that while I could make what would be in my eyes an elephant, someone else might see in it a bird, or even a flower. It gives everyone the pleasure of seeing whatever they want to see,” said the dreadlocked single father of four.
Madzimbiri believes he is one of the lucky Zimbabweans as in spite of the economic crunch biting the country — characterised by an overly high unemployment rate — his artistry has allowed him to make a living off something he passionately loves.
“Since I started sculpturing, I have been content living off the art and I have never wished I was formally employed,” he said.
“Over the years, I have travelled to the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium and Australia to conduct sculpturing workshops and that not only paid off, but allowed me to secure many loyal foreign customers.”
While his name is practically unknown on the country’s larger sculpturing landscape, with names like the late Henry Munyaradzi, Richard Mteki, Sylvester Mubani and Colleen Madamombe often coming to mind whenever the popular artistry rooted in Shona tradition is mentioned, Madzimbiri believes he possesses the talent, zeal and determination to achieve greatness and be counted among the best. He reckons he will achieve such greatness as a sculpturing tutor at Mvurwi Arts Centre.
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“My wish is to turn this place into an arts school where we can train young people the art of sculpturing, the bulk of whom are sitting idle,” he said.
“During the times I have gone overseas, I have taught many white people the art of stone carving and in most cases they would bring along their young children to also learn. I will find it more fulfilling to do the same in my country, especially for the young ones that are idle with nothing to do.”
Madzimbiri says he and fellow sculptors that include Bernard Matemera, Luke Mugavazi, Tutani Mugavazi and Benjamin Musendami, who are running Mvurwi Arts Centre, have not been sitting on their laurels as they are putting in work to turn the place into an arts centre of note. The abundance of trees, colourful blooming flowers and well-manicured lawn where numerous sculptures are on display, bear testimony to the work they have been putting in to develop the piece of land allocated to them by Mvurwi Town Council.
But Madzimbiri does not only have a passion for stone carving and gardening as he is also an exceptional mbira player and a member of Dombomaringa—a Mvurwi mbira ensemble with one album under their belt. He also wishes to incorporate mbira playing tutorials at the arts centre.
While it still remains to be seen whether they will realise their ambitious dream of taking the place above the heights reached by Tengenenge Arts Centre — located about 50km to the north — Mvurwi Arts Centre is blessed with a favourable location that not only allows it to be more accessible, but is close to the Great Dyke which houses some of the most sought after stones in sculpturing that include black serpentine and spring stone, while green serpentine, brown serpentine and cobalt are also found not very far from the area.
