BY TENDAI SAUTA VISUAL artist Lorraine Mamvura, who is also the Chitungwiza Arts Centre committee member for women and artists living with disabilities, is an advocate for girl child protection and women rights through her carvings of brides, hairstylists and banners.
Mamvura pays a lot of attention to detail and has a little story for each of her carvings.
She believes it is every woman’s dream to become a lawfully wedded bride and this also was one of the best solutions to end gender-based violence and child marriages.
“I strongly feel that marriage is precious and every society should uphold. The recent announcement on lifting the age of consent to 18 years of age by the Constitutional Court is a welcome development in keeping children in school and realising their goals.
“The wedding day is a landmark in the lives of married people and the safest way to keep and nurture vows and promises. I use big springstone, white and green opal stones to lift the inspiration of being a bride to the girl child,” she said.
She says the secrets of a woman are best known by a braider and that is why she came up with the carving of the braider.
“Women discuss anything on their lives when given a chance. The easiest way to tap their inward feelings is to provide any opportunity to restore beauty through a hair do which is often restricted by economic and social tensions.
“We are almost getting close to three years of fighting COVID-19 and the best way is to keep on exercising best health and hygiene practices including getting early treatments and all the government recommended vaccines,” she said as she showed her statue of the COVID banner.
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She works with her husband, the award-winning stone artist and arguably one of the most sought after stone carver, Elvis Mamvura. In sharp contrast to Lorraine, Elvis has strikingly catchy sculptures of the Big Catch, Endless Journey and several fine art monuments. The couple is highly-respected and, therefore, making it easy for Lorraine to assume a motherly role as a committee member for women and people living with disabilities at the Chitungwiza Arts Centre.
“Arts must provide the easiest benchmark for inclusivity because it is a low cost investment for everyone, which only calls for discipline, patience and commitment,” she said.
“I am very grateful of the unshaken support I get from Elvis and the Chitungwiza Arts Centre community at large.”
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