As an artist I feel obliged to reflect my immediate environment, to make visible to others what I see and also how I feel. Potipher was borin in 1957 in the Goromonzi area of Zimbabwe. Through financial constrainst he was educated only to primary level. He then came to Harare where he worked as a general hand for National Foods and later as a packaging machine operator. During his time at national foods he would sculpt when he was not working. After leaving he went to the Goromonzi communal lands where he carved stone and wood. In 1992 he worked on a farm in Mashonaland east grading tobacco and sculpted. Here he caught the eye of fellow sculptor Cosmos Muchenge who invited him to his studio. There Potipher began experimenting on various large stones including leopard rock. His sculptures cover a myriad of themes, social, political, economic and spiritual. Bride (Leopard Rock) is a sculpture of a newly married woman, with a large nose, well-combed hair and glittering eyes. The uncarved surface of the stone represents the hair, the carved surface the face. As a person who grew up in a society based on many cultural beliefs and customs, I feel proud to express these beliefs in my sculpture. Daughter In Law (Leopard Rock) is a portrait of a daughter in law, holding a pot. This piece is a testimony to the Shona tradition in which the women are the carriers of pots and the drawers of water. Potipher carves in the rural area of Musana and his main ambition is to be a sculptor who speaks for the voiceless and an artist who establishes the links between the past and the present. He owes much to Cosmos Muchenge, and strived to emulate the way he has succeeded as a sculptor. His main quest is to be successful and to form an organization, which will solve the problems of all artists, regardless of creed, age and philosophy.

An interview of Potipher can be found at; http://youtu.be/G2njnb4WP_Y& http://youtu.be/RjUq0lZwBMA