The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
WATER always finds a way to move from its starting point towards the sea.
It neither has consciousness nor emotional reactions to changing geography as it moves in its cycle.
Instead, it continuously changes one form to launch another as it moves towards its true purpose.
Just like water which will always find a course to flow, young and deaf Marvelous Dziwire of Mutare found a way to let out his thoughts and emotions through art.
His hearing impairment and inability to make a coherent speech, something he has lived with since birth, have not deterred the 20-year-old Morningside visual artiste from letting out his thoughts, emotions and imaginations using pencils, inks and A3 papers.
He only needs a few seconds’ gaze at any given item or person to accurately reproduce the image on paper.
Marvelous caught the attention of many when he chose to make an artistic impression of social media influencer, Passion Java, and produced a perfect and accurate image of the popular socialite.
Within a few minutes, Dziwire’s Facebook post of Java’s portrait had earned more than 300 likes and many comments, most of which were commending the young artiste’s prowess.
But how did Dziwire fall in love with visual arts?
“When he was young, we visited our father’s workplace one day,” said Shammah, Marvelous’ brother.
He acts as the artiste’s interpreter.
“Our father works at a timber sawmill. After our visit, Marvelous drew an accurate image of our father’s workplace.
“Everyone was surprised by his ability to reproduce what he had seen moments after we had left the place, especially at his age. That is when we saw his potential in that field.
“He would draw cars and even design cars out of his own imagination. Then in 2016 he ventured into the production of portraits. He has made a little bit of income out of it,” said Shammah.
A portrait ranges between US$25 and US$30 when sold with a frame.
Marvelous Dziwire (left) was part of the interview as his brother Shammah shared his story
Owing to lack of educational institutions that adequately cover his special needs in Mutare, Dziwire went to school in Harare and Bulawayo.
“He attended Emerald Hill in Harare for his primary education before enrolling at King George in Bulawayo. In 2017 he proceeded to an arts school at the National Art Gallery in Harare. However, he could not complete his studies due to financial challenges,” said Shammah.
“Right now his immediate aim is to enrol again at the same institution and pursue studies in the same field, but with the use of computers or tablets. He really desires to learn that because that is where the industry is moving towards.
“In fact, he wants to pursue that with a bias towards car designing. However, the challenge remains the funding aspect. Even when he makes these portraits, the A3 papers, the special inks they use and the special type of pencils are all costly,” said the brother.
Just as he has found a way to express his imaginations, thoughts and feelings through art, one hopes and prays that young Marvelous finds the help he needs to attain self reliance in his chosen field.
