Colleen was born in 1964 and died in 2009. Colleen holds a somewhat inspirational role within the stone sculpture movement as she was one of only a handful of women sculptors in Zimbabwe, and often considered the best.
Her work added a new dimension to the complexity of Zimbabwean stone sculpture through her commitment to a theme. She uses her technical and artistic skills to highlight the special qualities of Shona women, as well as to communicate the inequities that affect their lives and status. Her subject matter is deeply rooted in the traditional role of Shona women. Her powerful images, their energy and movement, the contrast of rough and polished parts of the stone, make Colleen Madamombes stone sculpture some of Zimbabwes most dynamic.
She represents the voice of a new generation of Zimbabwean women. She declares:
I am inspired by the activity of women and I work hard to show this in my sculpture. In recent pieces I have used natural areas of the stone with rough workings to emphasise this movement the texture follows the rhythms of the body. This contrasts with the more finished areas of the face and hands.
Please view this video footage which is probably the last taken of Colleen;