The stories carved into the stone sculptures

Abstract sculpting can, at times, be extremely difficult to complete, however, this is also a very satisfying way of shape the stone.

Somehow it offers artists the freedom to create works of art using an expression of ideas at a subconscious level. This gives it a personal and unique feel, and, as a result, it will be aesthetically pleasing for all as a fine piece of sculptural art.

Usually the stone sculpture reflects what is taking place in the artist’s life at that specific period in time, while nurturing the artist’s spirituality. Thus it is viewed as an individual process.

The Shona people express their connection to nature through art. Their culture seeks to balance and honour the union between the natural world; which includes humans and animals, water and land, men and women, the old and the young, the ancestral and the living, as well as the earth and the sky.

The sculptures depict the family and life of the Shona people whilst expressing universal themes pertaining to birth, death, and family roles that are common to all individuals. Many of the artists are self-taught and they love the idea of creating something with a hint of movement out of an object that seems so solid and immobile.

The Shona abstract sculptures are artistic celebrations of peace, love and family. These stories are carved into the stone.

Steeped in the legends and traditions of this ancient African culture, Shona stone sculptures are a profound expression of human connections with the world around us. Primarily self-taught, Shona carvers do not plan or pre-draw their sculptures. Instead, the stone itself and the ancestral spirits appear in the artists’ dreams to reveal the spirit that dwells within the stone. By utilising simple handmade tools, they ‘release’ the trapped spirit. Once released, the spirits soar with dynamic mysticism.

Modern civilisations honour the Shona people for their art, culture, and their close spiritual relationship to the world around them. We can all learn from the Shona’s traditional belief that life is sacred, interconnected and interdependent. Humans (ancestral and living), animals, plants, as well as the earth and sky are all part of one extended family in the Shona world.

Every stone sculpture reflects combined joy with various emotions and feelings, while providing one with the opportunity to discover one’s own feelings when observed.