BY DR TONY M. MONDA
Apart from being a sculptor, Henry Munyaradzi was also an indigenous farmer. In 1984 Munyaradzi hosted a successful solo exhibition in London; this enabled him to purchase a farm in Ruwa where he worked and lived with his wife, seven daughters and two sons until his death on 27 February 1998.
In Ruwa he gained his source of inspiration from the farm’s surroundings. A traditionalist in his choice of subjects, Munyaradzi’s early occupation as a village blacksmith, his terrestrial wisdom and knowledge beyond our ages were articulated in one of his favourite subjects – a simple animated stone sculpture of the ‘Hoe-Head’ (Badza). The hoe in early Shona societies was a form of real currency and was used as a bride price.
Munyaradzi greatly respected the stone he used and was often inspired by its original shape. Being entirely self-taught, his work blended the simplicity of naivety with stylised sophistication.
For Henry, every object was alive with a life of its own –breathing, functioning and dynamic.
His signature ‘T-face’ animated a lion, a child, a lamb, a beautiful girl, a mighty chief or fearless hunter. Even tuber vegetables like ‘magwere’ – potatoes, or ‘mbambaira’- sweet potatoes, had faces, as did his utensils and agrarian implements such as ‘Spoon Head’, ‘Hoe Head’ and “Spade Head’. They all assumed a life of their own. Munyaradzi became one of the world’s most widely known and admired Zimbabwean sculptors.
A consummate sculptor, his work was meditative and gentle-spirited, and at times witty such as ‘Mango Head’, ‘Badza Head’, etc., but always filled with a more profound cultural meaning in the subjects he explored. Machinery, technological, agricultural and even meteorological symbols that were relevant to his agrarian way of thinking was animated in his sculptures.
The first astronaut was captured in ‘Apollo II’; his ‘Moon Heads’ and ‘Sun Heads’, even his monumental sculpture of a praying mantis ‘The Great Insect God’, ‘Hammer Head’, ‘Spade Head’ and others all alluded to the lives of indigenous Shona farmers and ways of living and the implements they used for farming.
Henry Munyaradzi participated in almost all Zimbabwean group sculpture exhibitions around the world and has won many awards and prizes. In 1981, Munyaradzi was awarded Second Prize for sculpture at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe Nedlaw-sponsored Annual Sculpture Exhibitions. He won First Prize in 1983 and Third Prize in 1984.
His artwork entitled ‘Wing Woman’ was used by the Post and Telecommunication Corporation (PTC) Zimbabwe on a commemorative postage stamp for Commonwealth Day on 14 March in 1983. It formed the 9c value in a set completed with works by Joseph Ndandarika, John Takawira and Nicholas Mukomberanwa. The stamp carried the name “Henry Mudzengerere”. Another piece entitled ‘Spirit Python’ was the 30c value in a set issued on 14 April 1988 to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the opening of Zimbabwe’s National Gallery.
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of contemporary sculpture in Zimbabwe he was made an “Invited Artist” at the National Gallery’s 1986 Annual Baringa-Nedlaw Exhibitions.
The same year, R.G. Mugabe, the then Prime Minister bestowed special awards to Thomas Mukarobgwa, Nicholas Mukomberanwa, and Henry Munyaradzi for their outstanding contributions to the Shona Sculpture Movement.
The West Gallery at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe was renamed the Henry Munyaradzi Gallery in his honour.
Following the inaugural Zimbabwe Heritage Exhibition of Zimbabwean Contemporary Arts held in 1986, at the National Gallery during the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Summit that was held in Harare, his sculpture attained premier value, commanding top prices around the world.
His works are in many prestigious collections including Chapungu Sculpture Park and the National Gallery in Harare which holds several pieces in trust for the nation, including ‘The Python’ (Shato) and ‘Lion Spirit’ (Mhondoro), among others in their permanent collection.
Henry Munyaradzi’s works are also in the collections of some local commercial banks that patronized the art in the past as well as Springstone International Art Gallery of 5 Idlehurst Way, Avondale; Beit Trust Collection, South Africa; McEwen Collection, The British Museum, UK; National Gallery, Botswana; M. John McFadden, New York, USA; Tabark Museum, Vienna, Austria; Uniliver Headquarters, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Tengenenge Museum; Caf Meyer Gallery Collection, Belgium; Collection Kleine Gunk, Germany; Collection Manfred Kuhnigic, Bad Soda, Germany; Collection Dr. Michelina Andreucci, Italy/South Africa; Collection Olivier Sultan, France; Collection Patrick Ranoux, France; Collection Dominique Gibert, France; The Joseph G Raeber Collection, Dornach, Switzerland ; Phoenix Art Museum, USA; Volkerkunde Museum, Frankfurt, West Germany; Gallery Alina Boston, Massachusetts, USA ; Reece Galleries New York City, USA; African Influence Gallery Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Africa Centre London, England; Margam Castle Wales, UK; Institute of Directors London, England; International Monetary Fund Washington D.C., USA; Partners in Progress Berlin, Germany; Worldwide Corporation, New York, NY, USA, and Richard Handelsman’s Collection Interior designer, gallerist and noted authority on Zimbabwean sculpture Michelina Andreucci, who is also an early collector and connoisseur of Munyaradzi’s work, said: “Henry’s art was a sculptural synthesis of the emerging technology and industry of the 60s, traditional religion, humanity and nature.
His work embodied a poetic subtlety described in intelligent design elements where geometry and naturalism blended effortlessly”.
Henry Mudzengerere Munyaradzi died in February 1998 and was buried in the Mukaera Christian Village on the outskirts of Guruve.
In life he presented a picture of innocence of man in harmony with nature. The Pan-African philosophy of Hunhu/Ubuntu was demonstrated in the humility and postures of his work and in his choice of subject, where he demonstrated a respect for all living beings.
Like a magician Henry Munyaradzi was a sage who knew how to decipher the essential and was able to translate the essence of any being or spirit into stone with care and tenderness he selected the stone which he felt contained the spirituality of an animal, a man, the moon and the wind.
Dr Tony Monda holds a PhD. in Art Theory and Philosophy and a DBA in Post-Colonial Heritage Studies. email: tonym.MONDA@gmail.com
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