Glenwood artist masters bronze sculpting
The father of two, who makes a living from his art, says people's misconception that you cannot make a living from art needs to change.
A CERTAIN bronze sculpture has recently hogged headlines all over the world. Cristiano Ronaldo may be the best player in the world, but the sculptor who carved out his bronze bust in his hometown of Madeira in Portugal is not so by any stretch of the imagination.
The player’s bronze statue created a social media frenzy for looking ‘very different’ to the Ballon d’Or winner.
Cristiano Ronaldo poses with a questionable bronze statue of himself — and the internet is scratching its head https://t.co/Oc0NN4nut1
— TIME (@TIME) March 30, 2017
Meanwhile, in Glenwood, lifelong sculptor with more than 20 years of professional experience, Emmanuel Mavura has mastered both carving in wood, rock and bronze sculpting.
Mavura who started carving from the age of seven, says migrating from carving with wood and stone to using bronze was a difficult one because the process is expensive and takes time.
“To create a bronze sculpture, I have to first create a clay model of what the finished product will resemble. Then, I need to create a wax or rubber mold around the outside of the clay model which can be removed and filled with molten bronze. I decided to start using bronze because it is difficult to find wood or rocks in South Africa,” said Mavura.
The father of two, who makes a living from his art, says people’s misconception that you cannot make a living from art needs to change.
“Many people in the past were told that they cannot make a living from just playing sport, but if you look now most of the highest earners in the world are sports stars,” he said.
“Parents need to be enlightened that they must support their kids who want to become artists because art can empower them. The good thing is they do not even have to look for a job, instead they can become their own bosses and employ others which in turn solves the unemployment crisis faced by the youth of this country. Art is capable of alleviating all the social ills faced by people in our country, all we need is just for people to shift their mindset and start taking ownership of their freedom,” he said.
Mavura’s current work is themed Tribal faces of Africa and includes a sculpture of the face of a Himba woman. The Himba are indigenous peoples with an estimated population of about 50,000 living in northern Namibia, in the Kunene region (formerly Kaokoland) and on the other side of the Kunene River in Angola. Mavura says his work is a continuation of the legacy that was left by his father and he would also want his kids to continue with it. I would like to exhibit internationally and also do some commissioned pieces,” he added.
As his parting shot, Mavura says through art we can knock down the barriers that prevent us from uniting and being one. Emmanuel Mavura is part of the group of artists who will be exhibiting their work at the Intellectual Property exhibition,taking place on 5 October at the “The Plant” 5 station Drive.
Contact Emmanuel Mavura’s contact details 0n 073 3311 552, 062 008 2829 or mavuraemmanuel@gmail.com.
