Missouri Botanical Garden - Chapungu Nature, Man, And Myth

Voice: Collen Nyanhongo, Chapungu Artist I am Collen Nyanhongo. I come from a well known family of internationally recognized Zimbabwean sculptors. Sculpture has always been part of my life. From when I was very young, I would sculpt for fun with my father Claude and my brothers and sisters. I sculpted with them after school in my free time. My father is my main inspiration to become a sculptor. I began studying how to sculpt under him, my brother Gideon and my sister Agnes. I sculpted with them on the weekends while I attended college. During that time, art collectors would come to our house or the galleries and purchase my sculptures. When I completed college, I looked for a job as a salesperson at Chapungu Sculpture Park. Instead the director, Mr. Roy Guthrie, encouraged me to pursue my talents as an artist. As I am working on a piece, I want to combine what the stone has in it with my artistic creativity and through the process the sculpture evolves. The main subjects of my work are of the Shona spiri