Born in 1942 in the Chiota reserve, near Marondera (North EasternZimbabwe), his early childhood and family experiences were toinfluence the directions and philosophies of his adult life. As ayoung man he moved to Harare to find work and in 1966 he visited theNational Gallery and saw the astonishing stone sculpture for thefirst time. A chance meeting with Tom Bloomfield that same day led tothe invitation to join the new sculptor's community at Tengenege.With no previous artistic experience other than basic lessons duringhis school years, he joined the now famous sculptors such as BernardMatemera, Ephraim Chaurika and Henry Munyaradzi. However, keeping tohimself, and struggling to forge his own ideas and style in the hardGuruve Serpentine he was to spend the following two yearsestablishing his name as one of the leading Tengenenge sculptors. Afiercely independent artistic spirit, obviously throughout hiscareer, was to force Mubayi to break away from the closed communityand return to Harare. His help was enlisted by Frank McEwen inestablishing the influential Vukutu sculpture workshop, his years atVukutu saw the creation of some of Mubayi's most striking work.
The fusion of spiritual and earthly worlds as well as human andanimal iconography inspire the work of Sylvester Mubayi. Dedicated tothe beliefs and traditions in which he was raised he says " I know myculture. I know how to supplicate my spirits. Our people they arefollowing the English or European culture - they don't know what theyare doing. Myself I won't leave my culture." This sentiment isconfidently expressed in every aspect of his sculpture and his day today life. His career has influenced and been influenced by many ofthe major events in the development of sculpture in Zimbabwe; theearlier years at Tengenenge; the establishing of Vukutu; thedifficult years during the liberation struggle where his strength ofcharacter gave heart to other struggling artists. It was during thewar years that the important friendship and working relationship withRoy Guthrie began, an association which is still strong today withMubayi enjoying " Invited Artist" status at Chapungu, the highestacknowledgement of artist excellence the Park can bestow.
After Independence his powerful works were acknowledged at his oneman exhibition at the Francis Kyle Gallery in London. The first lineof the review by Michael Shepard of The Sunday Telegraph read asfollows
" Now that Henry Moore is dead, who is the greatest living stonesculptor?. Where I to choose, I would choose from three Zimbabweansculptors - Slyvester Mubayi, Nicholas Mukomberanwa and JosephNdandarika".
His work, which has received great international acclaim fromexhibitions dating back as far as 1971, is remarkable for itsspiritual power. It speaks to young and old and acts as aninspiration to art lovers and artists the world over.
Looking back on his career Mubayi feels justly proud. He maintainsthat his need to sculpt is as strong now as it was some 25 years ago- he suffers when he is unable to work. "Certainly when I knew him hewas by far the greatest sculptor there (Vukutu)... I have tremendousadmiration for him. Some of his work is as great as anything in theworld. One of the finest sculptors of this century" - Frank McEwen,1987. In the early years of his career Mubayi's sculpture wasuncompromising and very powerful while in recent years it has becomemore reflective, often tender and emotive. He is highly respected byboth the younger and older artists of Zimbabwe.
