Ennica describes the beginning of her career: ‘Being the daughter of Grace & Nicholas Mukomberanwa, it was obvious that the sculpting seed would be sown in my heart. When i first started sculpting with my parents, I was doing so as a hobby which I loved, unaware that it was a tide that was going to take me a long. Now that my parents and my brother Anderson are gone, Lawrence, Taguma, Netsai and I are still sculpting and trying to keep the studio environment as creative as it was when they were alive.’
And it is: ‘A visit to the studio in Ruwa revealed the truly inspiring works that are being done there, with even the boulders leading up to the studio having been subjected to the chisel, mallet, hammer and tungsten.’ (Lindy Mutunda, Zimbabwean journalist, 2003).
Ennica explains this creative drive: ‘When someone is deeply involved in art, one does not have to look for ideas but they come. Sometimes they come in less tangible forms like dreams. And although I focus on Shona culture, I’m sure these are ideas, that everyman, despite cultural, religious or social boundaries, is able to relate to.
Exhibitions:
ZimSculpt 2006 onwards
In Praise Of Women, South Africa2003
Zolla Gallery, Heidelberg, Germany 1999
National Gallery Harare, Zimbabwe 1994 onwards
The Mukomberanwa family studio has visitors and private collectors from all around the world and Ennica’s work appears in many of these personal collections.