"Serene" by W. Bonjisi

Witness Bonjisi was born in 1975 into a family of seven, and is the younger brother to renowned sculptor, Lameck Bonjisi. His other brother Tafunga Bonjisi is a sculptor whose pieces can also be found at Hemingway Gallery. Witness attended primary education in Domboshava, Chinamhora and then completed his secondary studies in Mabvuku, near Harare. Witness started sculpting at age 17 with Nicholas Mukomberanwa (one of the most famous first-generation Shona sculptors), as did his brother Lameck. Witness then moved on to sculpting with his brother Lameck of whom he was inspired by. Five years later he started sculpting his own works. Witness has flown to America and Switzerland attending workshops and exhibiting. His sculptures can be found throughout the world in private collections and galleries.

Red Jasper is an amazing semi-precious stone that was only recently discovered for carving in Zimbabwe. The lines and patterns in the stone are naturally formed over millions of years. The dark lines are from layers of prehistoric sediments and have no effect on the hardness of the stone. White quartz is also frequently found in Red Jasper. These details make each piece of Red Jasper completely unique. The beautiful deep red color is particularly appealing to many Shona artists and is an extremely hard stone and very difficult to carve.

Dating back to 1956 until today, stone sculptures in Zimbabwe are the best-known manifestation of African contemporary art. Northern Zimbabwe has uniquely large amounts of carvable stone. The stone was so important to the people that the name ‘Shona’ is derived from a word in their native language that means ‘house of stone.’ There is no technical artistic training in Shona sculpture. Sculpting skills are passed down through families and the large and hard stones are carved with only a hammer and chisel.