BY TENDAI SAUTA LOCAL visual artist Panashe Wadawareva, who is internationally recognised for stone carving of statues and figurines, said he draws his inspiration from popular Guruve sculptors famed for portraying Shona culture through visual art.
A member of Tafara Mabvuku Arts Association (TAMAA), Wadawareva does his stone carving on arguably most of the hardest stones found in Zimbabwe such as Springstone, Opal, Verdite, serpentine, cobalt, fruit serpentine, lepidolite and granite
In an interview with NewsDay Life & Style, the Guruve born artist said he has been inspired by the likes of seasoned stone carvers Bernard Matemera, Francis Mugavazi and Brighton Sango
“My work represents love, togetherness and peace in the form of carvings of cormorant (rain birds). I chose cormorants as my trademark for my artistry because they are symbolic and useful in detecting and predicting rain,” he said.
“Cormorants live on land and in water like penguins. I am also in love with these birds. In the next few years, I want to be recognised by giving knowledge on our arts and culture through teaching the upcoming generations on stone carving.”
Wadawareva said his greatest achievement in the art industry has been being able to teach, love, communicate and socialise on the rich African oral and tangible culture.
“From my tour of Europe and Africa, where I conducted workshops and exhibitions, I got to know that we are one throughout the world. What goes around comes around,” he said.
Wadawareva said artists at TAMAA were facing challenges of the scorching heat after their shelters were vandalised and stolen.
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“. . . right now, we are facing challenges of shelter, our centre was vandalised by scavengers on our metal sheet sheds. Now we are doing a fundraising to have thatched Gazebos and guard rooms,” he said.
Wadawareva, highly cherishes his experience at local exhibitions in schools and the prestigious Harare International Festival of Arts which he said groomed him for global fame and respect.
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