Scratching Bird

Chenjerai Chiripanyanga is a professional artist working in Harare. He is one of the few sculpture artists from Zimbabwe who not only works with serpentine stone but also with rusty iron, bicycle and car parts or wood in his sculptures. The subjects of Chenjerai's work are emotional, refreshing and sometimes political. His carvings often focus on musical instruments. According to Chenjerai, "Music is the heart of our art in Zimbabwe, either traditional music or modern music influences our feelings. This directs our hands when we create." He goes further to say, “Music is important to all cultures, it's like a common language between every culture. I wish people in power would really listen to the music more closely. Maybe then we could live in unity." Chenjerai's first exhibition was held in Europe in The Hague, Netherlands in 1993. While there he demonstrated his great talent as a sculptor as well as being a very fine painter. Chenjerai continues to participate in various local and international exhibitions and has won many prizes including the National Heritage Exhibition in 1992. His work has been sold to collectors all over the world.