30/03/2016
Elitana carves his animals from memory and tells the story of his youth , when a few young lads were sitting around their campfire one night, under the African night-sky. “Suddenly a rhino came rushing out of nowhere and stomped out the fire. We got a big fright, but the rhino was not interested in us, he just does not like fire! They are known to do that!” he laughs. Elitana Sibanda is an African artist that carves his artwork pieces out of one piece of wood. He uses the notoriously difficult wood called ‘leadwood’, or Combretum Imberbe. The wood is very hard, difficult to work, and termite resistant. It was once used for railway sleepers and is now prized as wood for ornamental work and furniture. In spite of the challenges of working with leadwood the detail of his work is very fine and delicate. The form, texture and folds the skins of his animals are nothing short of phenomenal.
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