Zimbabwe’s traditional stone sculptors, who once earned huge sums from Western tourists, museums and galleries, are now struggling to survive due to their country’s isolation.
The exquisite soapstone and granite works, crafted for centuries by the country’s majority Shona people, came to the attention of the world in the 1960s when it metamorphosed into a more modern and Cubist art form.
The representations of humans, birds, beasts and spirits or purely abstract pieces started commanding hefty prices abroad and Shona works grace the collections of the New York Museum of Modern Art, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and the Rockefeller family.
But Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s standoff with the United States, Europe and Australia since controversial presidential polls in 2002 has led to a slump in Western tourists, the main chunk of buyers.
Mugabe’s policy of wooing Asia to offset this drop has not helped.
”We have suffered perhaps even more than any other industry since the problems between our government and the Western countries started,” said Harare art dealer Newman Chiadzwa.
”The European markets are virtually closed and since the start of this ‘Look East’ policy, we are getting lots of visitors from China and Korea coming to us saying they want to exchange sculptures with goods such as bicycles. But we need money, not bicycles.”
Shona stone sculptures were picked up as souvenirs by European travellers as far back as the 13th century, according to historical records.
Newsweek once described it as probably the most important art form to have emerged from Africa in the 20th century.
Many sculptors now moonlight to supplement their income or sell their works at a fraction of the price in a country labouring under a slew of economic woes, including hyperinflation and a high unemployment rate.
Renowned local sculptor Kennedy Musekiwa said business had slowed down so much in the last five years that he has resorted to running training workshops in the United States and Europe to supplement his income.
”It’s difficult these days to earn a living on stone sculpture alone,” said Musekiwa.
”There is little business as fewer tourists are coming from Europe and the United States while most locals have little or no disposable income and would never think of buying a stone sculpture.”
Fellow sculptor Tendai Rukodzi used to run a bustling open-air gallery along the main road to Harare airport.
Now he spends most of the time chatting or drinking beer with friends while killing time and waiting for the rare customer to turn up.
”Some of our old clients have said they would never come here until Mugabe goes and as a result, I go for months without selling even a single item,” he said.
”I end up selling the sculptures at giveaway prices just to get money to buy food and pay rent. I don’t even get paid enough to buy stone to make the next piece.”
However, Elvas Mari, an official with the Zimbabwe National Arts Council, insisted there was a silver lining.
”This slump in business has also helped in a way to separate genuine artists from imitators. I believe it’s the mediocre artists who are feeling the pinch. Talented artists have weathered the storm and developed ways to sell their products in the difficult circumstances,” he said. – Sapa-AFP