DURING the past few years, all tourists and local buyers visiting the Chitungwiza Arts Centre in search of carved flying objects would be referred to Abishebah Chidawu for the varied bird life kingdom.
Chidawu has turned his choice of creativity to other wildlife animals like the Big Five of the lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and the elephant.
He now prefers carving fine art renditions of animals to abstracts and he told NewsDay Life & Style that he has several lessons to share that he copied from two of his favourite animals, the lion and the cheetah.
“As the lion grows older, it develops a sense of individualism and only calls its siblings when it catches a huge prey. The lion has courage and bravery and hunts until it gets its targeted prey. It can persevere and stay hungry for more than a week,” Chidawu said.
“As humans, we need to be mature and make use of our nurtured capabilities as we grow older. The elderly should be a reliable source of knowledge and correction, especially on the skills that we need for survival.
“The cheetah has the same habits with the lion and it has a more sharpened speed and timing when it comes to attacking other animals.
“Nowadays, there are several brands that use the cheetah as the emblem on their company logos and it is a symbol of strength and endurance and focuses on its profitable intents.”
Chidawu has been operating from the Chitungwiza Arts Centre for nearly seven years and his creative capabilities have grown in leaps and bounds.
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He yearns to have a debut exhibition on international platforms.
For now, he has only had links with foreign markets through social media.
“We hardly have seen any foreigners visiting the Chitungwiza Arts Centre in a month, but fortunately, we have been connected to the market through social media.
“Of course, we make sales and we wish to increase them through an effective interactive process, where buyers are spoilt for choice during their business trips and holidays in Zimbabwe.
“Physical visits by tourists have helped us in establishing more mutual relationships that enable artists to venture into other business fields,” he said.
A comparison of the two animals carved by Chidawu brings a lot of imagery and desire for visualising the real wildlife.
The lion and the cheetah are all fine art renditions in attacking mood as indicated by their postures.
The smooth black lustre on spring stone on the lion is an indication of Chidawu’s emphasis on perfection.
The details or spots on the cheetah emphasise a lot on his effort to replicate God’s beauty on the cheetah.
The lion head’s fur is also a true representation of the natural themes of hairstyle, which brings a little bit of innocence and disguise on the vicious animal, which is often dubbed the king of the jungle.
