Sculptor takes Shona folklore to China, US

 None of Nyakauru’s creatures are typically adventurous, resourceful, high achievers, or bursting with talent, but encountering Zimbos in the diaspora and at home, these qualities immediately become obvious.
Go whale watching in Hermanus, and the most popular waiter in your restaurant will be speaking Shona and reminiscing about life in Harare, as soon as he hears where you’re from. Find yourself in North Middlesex Hospital and one or more nurses in the ward will be your countrywoman, while Wendall, one of two Zimbos who competed in the Big Brother household, must be familiar to every avid TV fan across Africa. When it comes to talent, local multi-media sculptor, Victor, appears to be going from strength to strength.
Born in Harare in 1977, Victor grew up in Chitungwiza, attending Zengeza High School. While spending school holidays in the Honde Valley, he began making wire toys and experimenting with ceramics. A keen observer of human foibles, he began drawing cartoons. On leaving school he worked as a sales merchandiser for Dorking Dairies, cleaning shelves, pricing goods and interacting with customers at local supermarkets. It was only in 2005, when he enrolled at the National Gallery Visual Art Studios (previously BAT Workshop), that his art career took off.
Working with stone, metal and bone, Victor’s sculpture has won him several international awards. In 2009 he was awarded a four-month scholarship to Zhang Jia Jie in Hunan Province, China. Here he worked on a type of stone similar to granite, and created a huge bird. Victor’s biggest challenge during this time was coming to terms with spicy Chinese cuisine.
Later this year, the artist will be leaving for the United States, having been invited to take up an eight-week fellowship for artists from Africa, at Vermont Studio Center (VSC). The 30-acre rural campus of VSC, located on the banks of the River Gihon in the town of Johnson, in the US state of Vermont, is a haven for writers, painters, printmakers and sculptors.
As springstone, Victor’s favourite stone medium, is unavailable in Vermont, he will be experimenting with concrete and stones, using a metal frame and wire mesh to create his forms. Constantly thinking outside the box, he welcomes a break from using traditional materials. A break from traditional sadza and nyama while in America does not deter Victor, as burgers and milkshakes number among his favourite foods.
When he returns to Zimbabwe, the artist will have his work cut out for him, as he prepares for his exhibition in 2013 of big animals. Life size cheetahs will chase grazing gazelles, painted dogs will hide from marauding wildebeest, lion will hunt in packs and buffalo and zebra will jostle for space at the water hole.
These creations are dependent on sponsorship and on finding a suitable open environment for their display. All things considered, these requirements are more than likely to materialise.