Shambare carves to empower women

Ambrose Shambare

CHITUNGWIZA-BASED visual artiste Ambrose Shambare, who has sold his artworks across the globe, has said once art is received as a universal language which is interpreted in both local and international languages artists will not be left in extreme poverty.

Shambare hogged the limelight in 2018 for advocating for stiffer penalties on copycats.

In an interview with NewsDay Life & Style, Shambare said through his carvings he sought to demonstrate his willingness to share and acquire knowledge.

“For my artifacts to suit any given task themes, I  use a variety of stones such as spring, opal, cobalt and fruit stone, among others,” he said.

“Through my artifacts, I also bring into reality the situation on the ground with regards to improving the business environment for both men and women.”

Some of his pieces include Meeting at the Last Stream, Striker and Defender, Waiting for Adam, Evolution and Celebration at Graduation.

“Meeting at The Last Stream is a story born out of a drought experience with different classes of birds despite sharp differences, uniting at the meeting of the only flowing streams to drink some water. The rugged branches of a leafless tree became a resting point as the different species sang different songs,” he noted.

Shambare said the Striker and Defender piece was a football game symbol that derived its meaning from how every team plays to win while attacking and defending became the norm.

“Waiting for Adam and Evolution and Celebration at Graduation have a reflection on the emphasis of promoting innovation and creativity in women. Celebration at Graduation is a statue that shows a girl child who has excelled in her studies while a boy envies her sister and begrudgingly demands to be lifted too,” Shambare said.

“The piece “Waiting for Adam shows how much Eve was exposed when Adam was not availablefor protection and shared decision-making.”

“Evolution is my own creation story that God in the beginning had a passion for equality between each and everyone of his creations and thus threw an anointed fertilised egg on earth that hatched all the animal and humankind races we see today,” he said.

Shambare has been in the visual arts industry since 1994 under the mentorship of the late Edmore Shereni, Tonderai Marezva and Steward Jemani.

  • Follow us on Twitter  @NewsDayZimbabwe

Related Topics