Much of Tonderai Marezva’s sculpture illustrates the duality of people. His pieces represent both sides of ourselves, our finite side and our unknown side. Cutting his stones to his own specification, he presents one side of a face in an inky, deeply polished springstone and the other in a worked surface, pure, pale and clean, fresh and natural. Marezva is not at ease with the anecdotal work of his predecessors, but tries to discover and present the viewer with the the shadowy side, the alter ego of his subject. His work is starkly modern, in every sense of the word. Marezva’s work has psycological depths, He enquires about people’s states of mind and investigates the sub-conscious versus conscious mind.
Tonderai Marezva feels very strongly about African traditions and the value of belief in ancestral spirits as guides and mentors to the mortal realm. As he represents both sides of a person in his sculptures he also illustrates the same dicotamy in reference to the African spiritual versus mortal beliefs.
Space is also a property of marezva’s work, he often outlines space in the form of a face within his pieces. Space is a rare medium within sculpture is Zimbabwe, showing that Tonderai is very adventurous not only in concept but also in form.
Tonderai Marezva has worked alongside sculptors who explore their use of the stone, by cutting and pasting pieces together to create design. To name two of these sculptors: Nesbert Mukomberanwa and Chichewa Jamal.
Tonderai suceeds as a sculptor with a unique style and is rapidly becoming a recognised sculptor, not just for his physical talent but also for his thinking. Tonderai takes the complexities of the human condition and realises his observations through his hands. Presenting his observations in stone sculptures of stunning appearance and minimal form he pleases all of our senses.
Tonderai Marezva’s work has been shown in Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and The United Kingdom. All these countries have been exposed to the avant-garde and quality sculpture in the past, and, here is where Tonderai’s work stands alone, strong, thoughtful and beautiful.