Stone-Ideas.com 
In response to our question, Edmore Sango replies that his sculptures depict “the nature that surrounds me and the way we live together in my community.“ With that, we want to pose a question to our readers: What do you think – where is Edmore Sango at home?
Of course, it is Africa, more specifically: Zimbabwe, and the small village of Chitaunhike in the Guruve region, located far toward the southern tip of the continent.
The climate there is tropical to subtropical, and so, as in this zone worldwide, the most decorative plants and the tastiest fruits grow in abundance. All of this “contributes for abstract art to flow in my veins and my brain,” adds Edmore Sango.
Indeed, plant motifs are unmistakable in many of his works, as are people who relate to one another.
We ask: Is this still abstract art, or is it just the African variant of realism, where, for example, plants are depicted swaying in the wind or people imitating them to the beat of music?
Zimbabwe means “A Great House of Stone” in the Shona language, and thus we have also identified Edmore Sango’s tradition and perhaps his genetic predisposition in our portrait.
He came to sculpture through his eldest brother, Brighton Sango. Brighton is considered one of the fathers of abstract sculpture in Zimbabwe and a co-founder of Shona Art. Other members of the family have also made a name for themselves in art.
In any case, the tools and scraps of his older brothers Onward and Bywell, as well as his sister Queen Sango, were Edmore’s favorite toys, according to “Into Africa“ (see below): He created small sculptures and was already selling his first pieces as souvenirs to art collectors and tourists at the age of seven.
Initially, he was inspired by the style of his eldest brother, with his rectangular and cubic forms. Eventually, he found his own way: Today, he designs less surfaces than lines that twist, twist, and occasionally take strange curves.
He uses local stones as his material. Zimbabwe has a strong natural stone industry with many exotic varieties. However, it is usually only available through intermediaries abroad.
He has had his own family with his wife Charity Tavirimirwa since 2001.
He has since made a name for himself internationally. In Germany, he is at home at the sculpture gallery “Into Africa.“ It is located in Wernsbach, a district of Georgensmünd, not far from Nuremberg. Georgensmund is home to many historic quarries. Edmore regularly teaches workshops in Wernsbach during the summer.
The “Traditional African Church Fair“ is held there one weekend – according to initiator Fritz Meyer, it is an opportunity for “things that don’t really fit together“ to come together, a slight variation on Willy Brandt’s famous phrase about German reunification.
This refers to the traditional culture of celebration in Bavarian villages, and: “We’re adding a bit of Africa,“ says Meyer.
Into Africa (German)
