Bushman by Josia Manzi - SOLD

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Josia Manzi is an early first generation artist who still lives and works out of his home in rural Zimbabwe. His style is definitive and his work evolves from his cultural and spiritual roots. 13" tall x 11' wide and weighs 29lbs. Josia Manzi is of Yao origin and has always lived and worked at Tengenenge. He was born in Zimbabwe, and feels that although he is descended from his parent culture he cannot claim to be part of it. His relationship with that culture is tempered by detachment and objectivity. He regards himself as an onlooker at the Yao dance. To Josia the Yao dances, the nyago and the ben, are a form of theatre and a spectator sport. His sculptures follow the forms of the dances but stop short of following the steps. There are in his mask-like heads, implications of characters, and of caricatures, but never revelations and the Yao secrets are kept safe. On first appearance, Josia's sculptures do not have the feral quality of other Tengenenge art, which seem ill at ease in the real world and uncomfortable in the presence of man. Although meticulous of finish and impeccable of technique, these sculptures have a sense of the anima of the artist, and the fact that the Yao beliefs have not altogether lost their hold. They convey that, at Tengenenge, what is felt is more important than what is seen or observed, experienced or heard. In this sense they are truly Tengenenge sculptures. Generally, Josia seems on good terms with the real world and at ease with its inhabitants. Some of his sculptures lovingly represent this relationship, and are naturalistic statements about the world around him. But often it is his terms rather than our terms which matter, and it is his view of things rather than ours which is depicted. To Josia the real world is not always a serious place. Its destiny is often shaped by quirks and follies and events which go off course and which cannot be steered back to their original direction. Josia is not averse to tinkering with the natural order of things, to rum the real world and even the spiritual realm on its lighter side, to recount an amusing incident, or play a practical joke on our sensibilities. He delights in establishing surprising relationships between man and spirit, animal and man, and man and nature. He takes licence with accepted notions of reality and his sculptures are a play on orthodox ideas of form. In some of his sculptures, the anatomy develops new and often disturbing relationships. To Josia it seems natural for breasts to develop from thighs. Yet to the onlooker it seems surreal and a subversion of orthodoxy. Josia's surrealism does not have the bite and expressiveness of other Tengenenge sculptors, but it has an African sensibility and a hint of Yao origin. In a sense he turns the Yao dancing into the theatre he believes it to be, a theatre verging on the absurd. Josia invests nakedness with propriety and makes us feel it has always been man's natural state and that clothes have never been invented. Like the painted nude his naked forms are to be admired and appreciated. Smooth and wellrounded his sculptures are stone made flesh: firm, toned, glowing and smooth. His nude figures are proud of their appearance and they have nothing to hide or to be ashamed of. Josia's stones have no sense of origin; they are sleek and smooth, well-cared for and even pampered. Each day they are carefully polished and retain a high gloss. His recent use of the natural surface in his sculpture is more a device than a respect for the natural qualities of the stone. Ms Monkey and Owl and his Mirror seem like giant cameos - the smooth, carved figures of the animals, the bird and the human face carefully inlaid into the stone and offset by their natural setting. Josia can be a sculptor of incidents, each work conveying the circumstances which create the predicament for the subject. In Baboon Stealing the Mealie Guard's Child the baboon is caught in the act, surprise on his face, defensively clutching the child. Here is a tussle in stone which is never resolved. His Fighting Man is punch-drunk with aggression. He sees the world as his assailant and engages in combat with empty space. The winner is never revealed. His Rhinoceros is a stone which seems to swell before our eyes, well turned out, riding its pedestal with amazing grace. His Bird is full-frontally nude. The tails of a frock coat which stream down its back are an apology for feathers. In Woman a hand modestly covers an area where a breast should be. The breast has been removed from its original position and relocated on the thigh, and pokes fun at the world with its nipple. Josia poses new possibilities for the human form, and new ideas for creation which do not disturb or shock. Josia has never left Tengenenge, has little idea of education and is without any concept of art education, or training by others. What is usually gained from the instruction of others, often experts, Josia has taught himself. Josia like Amali, another Yao sculptor at Tengenenge, does not include our view of the real world in his art, and does not always help us to understand his world. His relationship with his parent culture's spiritual realm is not always easy. If ill at ease with the spiritual realm he will turn to the real world to relax and enjoy its lighter side. We cannot predict the outcome of Josia's sculpture; we tend to end up with a totally different impression to our first. His is the art of surprise, and if Josia plays a practical joke he will alw JOSIA MANZI (Yao Extraction). Born: 1938, Zimbabwe. Training: 1966 - Tengenenge Sculpture Community (informal). WORKS REPRESENTED in the permanent and overseas collections of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. WORKS SELECTED for the Annual Exhibition of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe: 1968, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1989, 1990. AWARDS and ACHIEVEMENTS: 1987: Award of Merit, Zimbabwe Heritage Exhibition, National Gallery of Zimbabwe; 1990: Award of Distinction and Certificate of Excellence, Zimbabwe Heritage Exhibition, National Gallery of Zimbabwe;. SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS: 1985: Contemporary Stone Sculpture from Zimbabwe, Irving Sculpture Gallery, Sydney (in association with The Gallery Shona Sculpture, Harare); 1986: Soul in Stone, Irving Sculpture Gallery, Sydney (in association with The Gallery Shona Sculpture, Harare); 1989: Zimbabwe, Op de Berg, Foundation Beelden op de Berg, Wageningen, Holland; 1989: The Spirit of Tengenenge, Zimbabwe German Society, Harare; 1990/91: Contemporary Stone Carvings from Zimbabwe, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, U. K. Other PUBLIC and PRIVATE COLLECTIONS in which WORKS REPRESENTED: Tengenenge permanent collection; Chapungu Village Sculpture Garden permanent collection; private collections inside and outside Zimbabwe.