CREATION figurines sculpture Brighton Tendayi is living his dream as he is arguably the most sought-after visual arts exhibitor in places that include schools’ career guidance, corporate meetings, local and international cultural exchange events and galleries, among plenty others.
Most recently, Rory Mcgown, an American curator and gallery owner, resurrected and motivated the Chitungwiza Arts Centre-based Tendayi to appreciate and accept other forms of visual art through moulded eagle and printed T-shirt gift renditions of his creative work.
Tendayi, who is a former Chitungwiza Arts Centre youth chairperson, has carved on several types of hard stones like Aggate, Butter Jade, Spring stone, dolomite and red jasper, among others.
He charmed Mcgown through his The Spirit of Being Greedy and The Attacking Mode carvings in addition to other stunning creative works.
“The Spirit of Being Greedy are two eagles that are fighting over a fish, which one of them has just pulled out of the water. He warns that the two eagles could risk losing what they could have shared peacefully if the fish falls back into the deep waters.
“This piece speaks about greed. Greediness and corruption make people lose more than they could gain,” Tendayi said of his creative carvings.
“The Attacking Mode is an African Buffalo bull ready to charge without any fear and very confident of defending its family against any forms of attack.
“The African Big Five, shows the beauty of African wildlife. Africa, and Zimbabwe included, is the only continent where tourists can come and adore lions, elephants, buffaloes, rhinos and leopards in one visit.
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“The big five symbolise the most feared animals which can cause harm to humans and the wildlife. Positively, the big five are a source of wealth through many of their traits in addition to being tourist attractions.”
Tendayi added that schoolchildren like stone carvings and are always seeking finer details on the actual animal habitats.
He believes that urban set-ups are too far from game parks and sculptures help children to know more about animals and leave them with a desire to see the actual animals.
“Lory Mcgown branded me out of my creative work and it was also a lesson for me to think outside the box and help people to appreciate sculptures through other art forms,” Tendayi said.
“I have recently been invited to explain the sculpture business and pursuing a career as a visual artist at career guidance workshops and events in Chitungwiza.
“Many high and primary school students indicated that they would love to take visual arts and sculpturing as a career of choice.”
Tendayi said he toured extensively and would like to see the local arts industry equalling what its peers in the developed world have achieved.
“My creative work on wildlife animals is predominantly on how they hunt and their general habits,” he said.
