Fanizani Akuda
Encyclopedia
Fanizani Akuda, also known as Fanizani Phiri, was a member of the sculptural movement usually called "Shona sculpture" (see Shona art
and Art of Zimbabwe
), although he and some others of its recognised members were not ethnically Shona
. He worked initially at the Tengenenge Sculpture Community, 150 km north of Harare
near Guruve, which he joined in 1966.
Fanizani died on 5 February 2011.
. He received no formal schooling and in 1949 he moved to Southern Rhodesia
in search of work. This led to employment as a cotton picker, bricklayer, and basket weaver: by 1966 he was working as a farm manager. However, in terms of his later success as a sculptor in stone, the most significant move came in that year when he was offered work by Tom Blomefield, a white South-African-born farmer of tobacco whose farm at Tengenenge near Guruve had extensive deposits of serpentine stone suitable for carving. Fanizani was initially a quarryman but after a period living in the artists’ community he took up sculpting: finding this provided a worthwhile financial return, he became a full-time sculptor alongside other well-known figures such as Henry Munyaradzi
.
. After Zimbabwe
’s independence in 1980, Tengenenge Sculpture Community re-established itself as a major sculpting centre but Fanizani did not return there. He continued to sculpt independently until his death in 2011.
In 1988, Fanizani’s sculpture Snake Man was highly commended in the Zimbabwe Heritage Exhibition, the annual exhibition of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe
. Another of his 1988 works, I know you have stolen my eggs is pictured in the catalogue for the touring exhibition that visited European venues including the Yorkshire Sculpture Park
in 1990
Akuda is probably best known for his ‘whistler’ figures. In these stylised heads, the prototypical face with its slit eyes is given a thin mouth line with a simple centrally placed borehole. This gives the ‘whistlers’ an acoustic trait: by tapping a thumb on the sculpture’s mouth, one can create a characteristic sound from the sculpture’s lips.
Olivier Sultan said of his work
Shona art
Shona art is the name applied to the visual culture of Zimbabwe. The term is used despite the fact that many artists now working there are not ethnically Shona and logically it should include art produced by settlers or visitors to Zimbabwe, especially in the colonial period...
and Art of Zimbabwe
Art of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean art includes decorative esthetics applied to many aspects of life, including art objects as such, utilitarian objects, objects used in religion, warfare, in propaganda, and in many other spheres. Within this broad arena, Zimbabwe has several identifiable categories of art...
), although he and some others of its recognised members were not ethnically Shona
Shona people
Shona is the name collectively given to two groups of people in the east and southwest of Zimbabwe, north eastern Botswana and southern Mozambique.-Shona Regional Classification:...
. He worked initially at the Tengenenge Sculpture Community, 150 km north of Harare
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
near Guruve, which he joined in 1966.
Fanizani died on 5 February 2011.
Early life and education
Fanizani Akuda, an ethnic Chewa was born in 1932 in what was then Northern RhodesiaNorthern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
. He received no formal schooling and in 1949 he moved to Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
in search of work. This led to employment as a cotton picker, bricklayer, and basket weaver: by 1966 he was working as a farm manager. However, in terms of his later success as a sculptor in stone, the most significant move came in that year when he was offered work by Tom Blomefield, a white South-African-born farmer of tobacco whose farm at Tengenenge near Guruve had extensive deposits of serpentine stone suitable for carving. Fanizani was initially a quarryman but after a period living in the artists’ community he took up sculpting: finding this provided a worthwhile financial return, he became a full-time sculptor alongside other well-known figures such as Henry Munyaradzi
Henry Munyaradzi
Henry Munyaradzi was a Zimbabwean sculptor. The sculptural movement of which he was part is usually referred to as "Shona sculpture" , although some of its recognised members are not ethnically Shona. He worked initially at the Tengenenge Sculpture Community, 150 km north of Harare near...
.
Later life and exhibitions
Akuda and his wife Erina had seven children. They had left Tengenenge in 1975 during the civil war, taking residence in ChitungwizaChitungwiza
Chitungwiza — known colloquially as Chi Town — is a high-density dormitory town in Zimbabwe. The town is approximately 30 kilometres south of the capital, Harare. It was formed in 1978 from three townships: Seke, Zengeza, and St Marys.- Background :...
. After Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
’s independence in 1980, Tengenenge Sculpture Community re-established itself as a major sculpting centre but Fanizani did not return there. He continued to sculpt independently until his death in 2011.
In 1988, Fanizani’s sculpture Snake Man was highly commended in the Zimbabwe Heritage Exhibition, the annual exhibition of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe
National Gallery of Zimbabwe
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe is a gallery in Harare, Zimbabwe, dedicated to the presentation and conservation of Zimbabwe’s contemporary art and visual heritage...
. Another of his 1988 works, I know you have stolen my eggs is pictured in the catalogue for the touring exhibition that visited European venues including the Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Yorkshire Sculpture Park
The Yorkshire Sculpture Park in West Bretton, Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England is an open-air gallery showing work by UK and international artists, including Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth...
in 1990
Akuda is probably best known for his ‘whistler’ figures. In these stylised heads, the prototypical face with its slit eyes is given a thin mouth line with a simple centrally placed borehole. This gives the ‘whistlers’ an acoustic trait: by tapping a thumb on the sculpture’s mouth, one can create a characteristic sound from the sculpture’s lips.
Olivier Sultan said of his work
"His characters are tender and humorous, constantly smiling, with mysterious slit eyes. They are often formed in pairs or groups. To Fanizani, family represents a poetic world, moving in its simplicity and its tenderness."
Selected solo or group exhibitions
- 1970 Museum of MalawiMalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, BlantyreBlantyreThe name Blantyre may refer to several things:Malawi*Blantyre District — Blantyre, a district of Malawi**Blantyre, Malawi — Blantyre, a city of Malawi... - 1981 onwards: many Annual Heritage Exhibitions at the National Gallery, HarareHarareHarare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
- 1983 Images in Stone, Earl Sherman Gallery, Camerillo, California, USA
- 1985 Kresge Art Museum, MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, USA - 1986 Irving Sculpture Gallery, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia - 1989 Zimbabwe op de Berg, Foundation Beelden op de Berg, WageningenWageningen' is a municipality and a historical town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specializes in life sciences. The city has 37,414 inhabitants , of which many thousands are students...
, The Netherlands - 1990 Contemporary Stone Carving from Zimbabwe, Yorkshire Sculpture ParkYorkshire Sculpture ParkThe Yorkshire Sculpture Park in West Bretton, Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England is an open-air gallery showing work by UK and international artists, including Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth...
, UK - 1993 Galerie Knud Grothe, CharlottenlundCharlottenlundCharlottenlund is a minor palace near Copenhagen in Denmark. In its original baroque form it was built between 1731 and 1733 on the foundations of a palace named Gyldenlund. The palace was named after Charlotte Amalie, the daughter of Frederick IV of Denmark and the sister of Christian VI of...
, Denmark - 1995 Ointmoetting in Hamonie, Galerie de Strang, Dodewaard, The Netherlands
- 1998 Zimbabwe stenen Getuigenissen, Royal Museum for Central AfricaRoyal Museum for Central AfricaThe Royal Museum for Central Africa is an ethnographical and natural history museum in Tervuren, just outside Brussels, Belgium. It was first built to show off King Leopold II's Congo Free State for the 1897 World Exhibition. It focuses mainly on Congo, Belgium's former colony...
, TervurenTervurenTervuren is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren, Vossem and Moorsel. On January 1, 2006, Tervuren had a total population of 20,636...
, Belgium - 2005 The Legend of Zimbabwe's Stone Sculpture: Fanizani Akuda, solo retrospective, National Gallery of ZimbabweNational Gallery of ZimbabweThe National Gallery of Zimbabwe is a gallery in Harare, Zimbabwe, dedicated to the presentation and conservation of Zimbabwe’s contemporary art and visual heritage...
, Harare, Zimbabwe - 2006 Master Sculptors of Zimbabwe, Group exhibition, Italy
Further reading
- Mor F. (1987) "Shona Sculpture". Jongwe Printing and Publishing Co, Harare. ISBN 0797407812
- Winter-Irving C.Celia Winter-IrvingCelia Winter-Irving , was an Australian artist and art critic who wrote extensively about the Art of Zimbabwe, especially Shona sculpture, when she lived in Harare from 1987-2008 .-Early life:...
“Stone Sculpture in Zimbabwe”, Roblaw Publishers (A division of Modus Publications Pvt. Ltd), 1991, ISBN 0908309147 (Paperback) ISBN 0908309112 (Cloth bound) - Winter-Irving C. “Pieces of Time: An anthology of articles on Zimbabwe’s stone sculpture published in The Herald and Zimbabwe Mirror 1999-2000”. Mambo Press, Zimbabwe, 2004, ISBN 0869227815
- Joosten, Ben. Sculptors from Zimbabwe: the first generation. Dodewaard, Netherlands: Galerie de Strang, 2001. 400pp.