The Katiro Stone Cooperative.
The Cooperative was founded in 2009 and is based in Harare, Zimbabwe. Named in loving memory of Wilson Katiro Chikuhwa — Teacher, Pastor, Grandfather, Hero…
The Artists
Twenty-one artists have contributed pieces to the Spirits & Stone Collection over the years. These young sculptors have learned at the feet of master carvers such as Bernard Matemera, Nicholas Mukomberanwa, Henry Munyaradzi, Boira Mteki, Peter Mandala, Joseph Ndandarika, Colleen Madamombe, Lazarus and Bernard Takawira, Sylvester Mubayi and Brighton Sango.
Yet, even as the influence of these great sculptors is evident in the work of Katiro’s artists — Tafadzwa Mandala, Luckmore Joseph, Lovemore and Witness Bonjisi, Wellington and Esau Karuru, Bernard Sango, B.T. Sakarombe, Wellington Nyika, John Monera, Patson Chengetai, Tawanda Makore, Tawanda Seremwe, Steven Chikeya, Godfrey Matungamidze, Chenjerai Chiripanyanga, Cleopas Kaduku, Prosper Katanda, Chenjerai Chiripanyanga, Cuthbert Zinyeka — each has also found his individual voice.
The aim of Spirits & Stone is to nurture the unique and individual expression of these artists, and afford them the recognition that their talent merits. The sale and auction of pieces of the Spirits & Stone Collection go toward supporting the artists, primarily through acquisition of raw stone and hand-tools for carving.
(Pictured: Luckmore Joseph, with his piece named ‘The Portrait’, in Springstone, 106cm.)
Pictured Above: Artists selecting Green Opal Stone from Chiweshe, north of Harare.
The Stone
Much of the stone used in Shona sculpture belongs to the Serpentine family. This is a type of sedimentary, metamorphic stone that can be found in a wide variety of colors, from deep green-blacks to rarer and brighter semi-precious types. Much of the stone comes from Zimbabwe’s ‘Great Dyke’ which is a geological formation stretching for hundreds of kilometers that formed millions of years ago. Much of the stone is mined in small, open cast natural quarries by locals or the artists themselves. While it is indeed hard labour to unearth, break and move the rock, this process has little ecological impact, and provides an important source of income for communities. The increasing recognition of Shona stone sculpture has led to viable livlihoods for the communities that have embraced it. The hand-selection of stone from open-cast mines in northern and eastern Zimbabwe is an important part of the creative process of the artists of the Katiro Stone Cooperative. The sculptures in the Spirits & Stone Collection are carved from a variety of stone including Green, White and Lemon Opal, Lepidolite, Springstone, Cobalt Stone, Dolomite, Verdite, Lemon Stone and Leopard Stone. These stone varieties rate between 5.0 to 6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale (with 1 being as soft as talc and 10 being as hard as diamond). As a basis of comparison, most marble rates from 3.0 to 5.0 on the Mohs scale. The artists often speak of the the unique and therapeutic ‘energy signatures’ of different stones.
Pictured Above: Sculpture Garden and Workshop, Airport Road, Harare; Bottom Right: A young apprentice-to-be Taha-Farai Chikuhwa.