This is the most substantial sculpture from Arthur Fata, who joined Guruve’s gallery in 2012. A large head in deep lilac lepidolite, this a real statement piece.
The Tonga are a people native to Zimbabwe. They come from the north and west of Zimbabwe, along the shores of Lake Kariba and around Binga. Other Zimbabwean people rather look down on them as illiterate subsistence farmers, but Tonga women are regarded as being exceptionally attractive.
Arthur is already a well-established artist, part of the so-called ‘second generation’ of Zimbabwean sculptors, with a reputation for experimental work.
Lepidolite is a mineral of the mica group, containing lithium. This stone came from Bikita, one of two sources in Zimbabwe. Lepidolite from the other mine in Mutoko is a deeper purple.
