The elephant standing guard at the entrance to the garden is life size. One can’t help but do a double take. Just to make sure it’s not real. Not a single detail - from the lines under the eyes to the grinds in the large tusks – has been left out. It’s hard to imagine this magnificent piece was once just a big lump of rock. There are hundreds of sculptures at African Village Garden Sculptures at the foot of Red Hill Mountain on the road to Cape Point in the Western Cape’s Peninsula. The stone effigies have been made by Zimbabwe’s Shona artists, Malawians and Zambians hundreds of kilometres away before being imported into South Africa from where they will be exported to Germany, France, Norway, China and the US. “We send them all over the world, but the Germans in particular like to buy our pieces,” says Erick Ruvinga, who runs the garden. His father is one of 14 artists whose work is displayed here. Ruvinga himself is an artist but says he is still learning the trade that he will one day pass on to his son – even though they now live in South Africa, far from the quarry mines where the rock is found and transformed into works of art. Ruvinga works from a makeshift hut on the garden premises. The reasons for manufacturing some of the pieces locally are two-fold. “It gives buyers some insight into how the rock is transformed,” explains Ruvinga. “They can literally watch a block of rock turn into a sculpture – be it on a small scale. It also keeps the trade alive even when we are far from where it originated. When we stop sculpting, this art form will die out.” Africa’s stone sculptures are renowned for their artistry, history and symbolism. It is a trade that is passed down from one generation to the next. The sculptures are produced from a variety of stones. The Zimbabweans favour serpentine stone. “It comes in different colours and levels of hardness. One can easily see which sculptures come from which region – the dark black pieces are all from Mvurwi in Zimbabwe as are the light green works. The dark green sculptures are mostly from Malawi,” he explains. The dark black he refers to is black serpentine. It is easy to see why carvers favour it as the final finish is remarkable. “The sculptures are polished to give them that gleam and to make the natural colour of the stone come alive,” says Ruvinga. “We also use opal, cobalt, leopard rock, springstone and soap stone. Each one has a different texture and finish, adding to the final look of the piece.” From fine art to abstract, the pieces vary in range as they do in size. “The big pieces weigh anything from 450kg and up,” says Ravinga. “And while they are made of stone they are still very delicate and so have to be transported with great care.” Business has gradually been moving south for some time. “Tourism in Zimbabwe at one point came to a near standstill and so we had to find markets for our works,” he says. “This garden is on the Cape Point tourism trail and so while it is a seasonal business we are reaching far more people than we would if we stayed in Zimbabwe.” The artists have had to become experts at logistics. “We do the importing into South Africa all on our own – including the transportation – to save costs. The exporting from here is handled by an agent. The mode of transport that we use is dependent on the buyer. While seafreight is cheaper it does take much longer and the risk of damage is higher.” Ultimately it is art. Simply put it cannot be repaired when damaged. “Due to the size of the pieces very little consolidation takes place. We prefer to see one piece packaged and packed into a container and transported on its own. There is less chance of something bumping against it.” According to Ruvinga, despite the cost factor airfreight is extremely popular. And it’s understandable. These artworks are not cheap. The starting price for the big pieces is around R100 000 per item. “These are all one-off creations. Not one piece is exactly the same as the other,” says Ruvinga. INSERT We send them all over the world, but the Germans in particular like to buy our pieces. “– Erick Ruvinga CAPTION 1 An African sculpture garden on the way to Cape Point. CAPTION 2 Sculptures are imported into South Africa from Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia for the international tourist market.
