Women are important to me. I want to show, through my work, their vital role in society. Women are not only as capable as men but they make up half of our global community. I want to celebrate that and their life giving, nurturing role.
We talk about Mother Nature so we acknowledge the “feminine” influence in the natural world. Africans hold a close relationship with nature. We all have our totems which connect us with animals or plants. Our totems give us identity within a clan and its ancestors but also totems remind us that we come from nature and we have a responsibility to protect nature.
In Zimbabwe the Chapungu (Bateleur Eagle) is a national symbol of protection. It is a bird of prey but we see the Chapungu – and other birds – as bringing good fortune and as symbols of freedom. That is what inspires me to sculpt birds and eagles in particular.
I am fortunate to have my father’s genes. My father, Joram Mariga, is described as the “father” of Shona sculpture. I was able to see art being created every day as a child. It was exciting. I enjoyed going to his workshop. To be able to create something with my hands and my heart, using hand tools and stone - a material which came from nature, amazed me.
It was not always easy to have my father as my mentor. He had high expectations. He wanted me to learn quickly and meet his standards. At first my sculptures were like his but as I matured I developed my own identity as an artist.
Art is a form of communication to me. It goes beyond cultural borders. Mentoring people from outside Zimbabwean culture how to sculpt, has taught me a lot. I have to listen to what other people see in the stone and how they want to express what they see. A number of my “students” want to express their ideas in a totally abstract way. That is a different way of thinking for me and I felt that if I was going to be a good teacher I had to understand and explore this way of thinking. Now there are times when the stone tells me a story that I can express better in an abstract form. Teaching has helped me grow as an artist.
I have been sculpting for 30 years now, having started at the age of 12. One of the important developments for me has been listening more deeply to the stone which inspires me. Often I find that I want to leave some or even much of the raw stone untouched.
I travel to the mine to select stone and that’s when the creative process starts. Sometimes I feel nature has almost formed the sculpture and my role is to see that and work the stone as little as possible.
In many cultures I know artists talk about the meaning of their art. Personally and culturally I am more comfortable with my art itself communicating directly with the viewer. I like to tell the story behind each sculpture but let other people interpret the meaning.