Artists have visited Mukambi

The Zata Family recently visited Mukambi and made some great carvings out of our local driftwood. To some it simply may be a piece of wood of little or no significance except to used be gathered and thrown onto a fire, but in the hands of a member of the Zata Family it becomes a work of art; the shape of the wood dictating the eventual sculpture.

The organic forms of gnarled and twisted or smooth and shiny wood give way to slender sculptured figures, furniture and other inspiring carvings. Through their work the Zata Family sculptors celebrate the beauty of nature, echoing the process of Zimbabwe’s stone sculptors who are renowned for working on a piece of stone only when it speaks to them.

The driftwood that forms the sculptures mainly comes from the Ozoroa Reticulata tree; locally known as the Muacha (Shona) or Raisin Berry (English); a tree whose roots are used in traditional medicine, said to aid digestion. Sculptures from the Zata family have been displayed in galleries and in publications such as Habitat Magazine and Condé Nast Magazine. Now we have the privilege of having these sculptors at Mukambi!