Azwimpheleli Magoro

Biography

Azwimpheleli Magoro lives at Muledane near Thohoyandou, Venda. His love for carving started in primary school and he soon started carving wooden spoons, jugs and knives from soft indigenous woods like Marula and Wild Fig, with chisels made out of sharpened bicycle spokes and screw drivers.

His works depict traditional themes from cultural life in Venda. Magoro’s sculptures are alive with linear movement and he executes every idea with skilled precision. His works are sought after because of these characteristics. Azwimpheleli was selected as a finalist in the ABSA Atelier Awards for Young South African Artists 2002.

Azwimpheleli’s works are housed in the following collections:

University of South Africa, Pretoria
Johannesburg Art Gallery
The Olievenhuis Museum, Bloemfontein
The Ethnographical Museum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

AZWIMPHELELI MAGORO
By Stephanie Donau

Azwimpheleli Magoro is a quiet man. Sitting in front of a massive Maroela tree stump at his house, his eyes wander across the surface, looking for the next line or shape to emphasize. He is skilled in his work and has been carving since he was ten years old. It was at the start of discovering this love for carving that Azwi’s uncle, Meshack Raphalalani, took him to a fellow professional carver, Hendrik Nekhofhe. It was under Nekhofhe’s wing that Magoro received a six-month apprenticeship, learning how to cut and choose wood, and how to use professional chisels. Nekofhe has been a source of inspiration for the young Magoro and has remained a close friend.

Azwimpheleli Magoro is a man straddling his ancient past heritage and the 21st century. He advocates a balance between the old and the new world, being only too aware that things are changing because of money and time. “Which means that when we are busy working there (in the cities) for that money, it means we are losing something. We don’t have time to go and fetch clay, we don’t have time to join the group for Tshikona, just because we are working for money.” He sees modern-day Venda’s not knowing about their cultural heritage and it is through his art that he wants to remind his people of their rich and valid history.

Through works that are clear in linear definition and detail, one learns about the centuries-old Tshikona, the dance of the men blowing on pipes, producing sounds and patterns of movement as old as the Venda people. One learns about cultural protocol, ways of greeting and specific traditional implements (such as the gsuri - or stamping block and mortar) that were used in days of old. He views the role of the Venda artist as central to its community, but also as central to future tourism for Venda. For tourists it would be “to see the ideas of other people.”