In Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe, striking stone sculptures that depict scenes of colonial strife, such as a pair of white hands covering a Black face and a colonizer using a Bible while crushing a native’s skull, are preparing to capture the attention of audiences in an upcoming exhibition at Oxford University, UK. These powerful images aim to explore and represent the fraught legacy of British imperialist Cecil John Rhodes. They highlight themes of religious manipulation, enforced labor, and sexual exploitation.
Rhodes, who amassed wealth through gold and diamond mining, seized extensive lands from native inhabitants across southern Africa in the late 1800s. He now rests beneath a stone slab on a hill in Zimbabwe. The exhibition at Oxford’s Oriel College, set for September, is especially symbolic due to the ongoing protests at Rhodes’ statue there. Though he died in 1902, his influence at Oriel persists through a scholarship benefiting students from southern African nations.
For stone carvers at the Chitungwiza Arts Center near Harare, the significance of this exhibition extends beyond informing Western viewers of a dark history. It offers a chance to breathe life into a fading but once-vibrant art form that has suffered due to economic hardships and dwindling tourist interest. Sculptor Wallace Mkanka, who created the piece depicting the blinded Black face, sees the exhibition as a means to garner international attention and sales directly from abroad.
Zimbabwe, whose name translates to “House of Stone,” traces its roots back to the architectural marvels of the Great Zimbabwe ruins, a significant Iron Age city renowned for its expertly stacked stone structures. Despite enduring nearly a century of colonial rule, Zimbabwe’s stone sculpture tradition survived, serving as a narrative tool to preserve history. Ironically, many sculptures were taken from Africa and became central to debates about repatriation, while others attracted tourists and collectors.
The stone sculpture industry in Zimbabwe saw a boom post-independence, with local white farmers buying pieces and helping with international sales. “Customers were everywhere,” recalls sculptor Tafadzwa Tandi, whose work will be featured at Oxford. However, the industry has faced obstacles over the past two decades. Zimbabwe’s standing suffered following controversial land reforms, which displaced thousands of white farmers to redistribute land to Black families, inadvertently causing economic consequences. Tendai Gwaravaza, chairman of Chitungwiza Arts Center, highlighted how previous clientele connections were disrupted by these changes.
At the arts center, hundreds of carvings—from small figurines to life-sized works—await buyers while the sound of grinders echoes, as sculptors craft their art. “We need to reach the markets ourselves now; if we don’t, no one else will,” Gwaravaza remarks, eyeing the Oxford exhibition as a critical opportunity for exposure.
The exhibition stems from the efforts of the Oxford Zimbabwe Arts Partnership, founded in reaction to the “Rhodes Must Fall” movement linked to the Black Lives Matter protests in the US. This collaboration between Zimbabwean artists, an Oxford alumnus, and an African history professor initially envisioned a large-scale project titled “Oxford and Rhodes: Past, Present, and Future.” Their proposal involved enclosing Rhodes’ statue in glass, installing life-size bronze statues of African liberation fighters, and creating a sculpture from recycled materials to symbolize the future.
However, with an estimated cost of 200,000 pounds, it became clear that the resources for such an extensive project were lacking. Eventually, Oriel College allocated 10,000 pounds for a more modest exhibition. Richard Pantlin, an Oxford alumnus and co-founder of the partnership, remains hopeful for a fuller realization of the project one day. For now, the scaled-down exhibition is accepted as a significant starting point.