The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa Entertainment Correspondent —
A MUTARE-BASED deadwood carver, Tatenda Gwarada (32), has defied all odds as in his rare form of art is able to turn a dead piece of wood into unique pieces despite a myriad of challenges.
Some random eye cannot see the message behind the deadwood, but to a trained and experienced eye like Gwarada’s any deadwood is conveying a message to the rest of the world and can be carved and created to let it speak freely to anyone who sees it.
Gwarada, however, said at times he himself would be surprised by the products that come out of his carvings.
He said: “I am intrigued at times because the finished products usually come out differently and better than what I had in mind. Say for instance this lion (on picture), I did not even know that it would come out a lion, but it did.”
With the aid of tools like the chisel, adze (mbezo) and glass-paper, Gwarada works wonders on just about any deadwood he comes across in the forest, evidenced by the carved lions, donkeys, benches and zebras that are displayed at his workshop in Mutare’s Central Business District.
Gwarada who collects the wood from Mpudzi area of Mutare District and also hails from the same place, said he started carving deadwood as a hobby sometime in 1998, following in his uncles’ feet who were already in the carving business.
He said in his business, they observe the rules and laws of the Environment Management Agency and do not destroy the environment.
“We do not destroy the environment and Environment Management Agency will never prosecute us because we only use deadwood. We never cut down a tree because they provide us with oxygen. However, we take old dead trees that are just lying around and have no use, but only waiting for our carvings,” he said.
Gwarada further stated that they were facing a number of challenges, including a loss of a viable market in the city and country at large.
He, however, appealed to sponsors to support their rare form of art and sponsor them to regional and international exhibitions as well as fairs as their art can help in attracting tourists to the country.
He also said if provided sponsorship to exhibit at foreign exhibitions they also help in generating the much-needed foreign currency.
