Bernard Takawira (1948–1997) was a

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, the younger brother of

John Takawira John Takawira (1938 - 8 November 1989) was a Zimbabwean sculptor. The background to the sculptural movement of which he was a leading member is given in the article on Shona art. Early life and education Takawira was born in Chegutu, the son of a ...

and older brother of Lazarus Takawira. Takawira was born in the mountainous

Nyanga Nyanga may mean: *Nyanga Province, of Gabon * Nyanga River, in Gabon and Congo *Nyanga people, an ethnic group from Congo *Nyanga, Zimbabwe, a town *Nyanga District, Zimbabwe *Nyanga National Park in Zimbabwe * Nyanga, Western Cape, a township in S ...

district, third of six children. Their father was often absent for work, and their mother, Mai, assumed a dominant role. She was well known for her knowledge of

Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people * Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today Shona may also refer to: * ''Shona'' (album), 1994 album by New Zealand singer Shona Laing * Shona (given name) * S ...

myths and stories, and would share them with her sons; these tales had a deep influence in both John and Bernard's careers as sculptors. Bernard trained as an

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

advisor to the government after leaving school, but was encouraged by John to try carving stone. John introduced him to

Frank McEwen Francis Jack McEwen, OBE (19 April 1907 – 15 January 1994) was an English artist, teacher, and museum administrator. He is best remembered today for his efforts to bring attention to the work of Shona artists in Rhodesia, and for helping ...

, who was running a

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

in Vukutu at the time. Takawira soon began spending all of his free time at the workshop, where he learned much; in 1977 he left his governmental position to begin sculpting full-time. Stylistically, Takawira's sculptures show evidence of a great interior struggle between

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and Shona culture, a battle which affected the artist for much of his life. Many of his works take as their subject abstract themes such as patience, humility, and integrity. Takawira died in 1997.

References

Biographical sketch
1948 births 1998 deaths People from Manicaland Province Zimbabwean sculptors 20th-century sculptors {{Zimbabwe-sculptor-stub