adminset to make history again.
This time, Ngwerume will donate a similar trapezium piece to the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands.
He will be doing it in his individual capacity, since Zimbabwe does not recognise the ICC because it has not ratified the Rome statute that set up the court.
Many AU countries have rapped the court saying it is a kangaroo court that turns a blind eye to the excesses of former Western leaders like Tony Blair and George Bush who are known to have committed war crimes during the so-called war on terror.
In an interview, the dreadlocked artist said he had already started working on the project and is expecting to take the sculpture to the ICC as soon as he secures the funding.
“I am working very hard to fulfil my dream; it’s my role as an artist to convey the message to people through art.
“I donated scale of justice pieces to Harare and Bulawayo High Courts and now I’m focusing on the International Criminal Court.
“Sculptures occupy space in our world and allow for a deeper connection through the sense of touch. This is a feature that two-dimensional arts cannot satisfy,” he said. Ngwerume, who operates from Tsindi Gallery along Airport Road, said the trapezium will be conveying the same message as the ones at the Harare and Bulawayo High Courts.
“The message is the same — justice,’’ he said.
Sui Generis Art spokesperson Edwin Hamunakwadi, also a lawyer, described Ngwerume’s art as a rare combination of talent, skill, and his understanding of the law which has seen him fusing law and art.
The springstone sculptor’s major breakthrough came in 2004 when one of his pieces titled “A Woman Scorned” — done in springstone and depicting a woman in deep sorrow — blew away many at Jan Kunst Gallery in Norway during an exhibition.
In 2005, he was included among 64 sculptors who exhibited at the World Tour Exhibition and was selected to represent Zimbabwe and Africa at the exhibition whose theme was “United Colours and Monuments”.
Ngwerume’s work explores the emotions and shows an amazing array of definitive states from tragic and haunting to ethereal and dynamic.
Online Reporter