PERCY MAZHINDU

SHONA MASTER

Percy was born in 1970 in the Marondera rural area, where he attended primary and secondary schools. In 1985, Percy attended the Kwekwe School of Arts, where he first learned how to carve. Percy had not been initiated in stone carving, until he began studying under his relative Kennedy Musekiwa. Under the guidance of Kennedy, Percy studied how to sculpt various styles and how to use the stone. Percy grew up in a family that could afford to send him to school, but nonethless, he began carving small creations and selling them in the market to earn enough money to pay his school fees.

Growing up in the rural area, Percy remembered the small creatures that would move on the ground and used them as inspiration for his initial stone creations. Percy’s sculptures reflect Shona culture and advocate for peace in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean carving stones are rare and semi-precious hard stones found in and around the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe. This stone marvel is a 310-mile long mantra stone that stretches north-south across the center of Zimbabwe and is over 2.6 million years ago. Percy likes to work on Opalstone, Cobalt, and Fruit Serpentine, because they tend to come out with good color.

Sculpting enables Percy to continue helping people by employing others to play different roles in the creation process of an elegant Shona stone sculpture. Percy gives each piece its particular title with the hopes that he can help to shape how people think about issues.

Percy hopes that his sculptures enable others to understand the art of Shona stone carving.