From stone to the work
One figurative sculpture by Langton Musekiwa, photographed in the workshop as it was carved.
1 / 8
From stone
The block as it arrived: long, heavy and still wearing its weathered rind.
2 / 8
The first lines
The composition is drawn straight onto the stone before any mass comes off.
3 / 8
Removing the mass
Heads and shoulders appear first as rounded masses, roughed out from the block.
4 / 8
The figures emerge
The forms separate from the stone and the line of the figures can be read along its length.
5 / 8
By hand
Faces are opened up with hammer, chisel and rasp, working directly on the stone on the ground.
6 / 8
Refinement
Close work on the eyes, mouths and the edges where one face meets the next.
7 / 8
Before the polish
The faces are defined and the surfaces are prepared for finishing.
8 / 8
The work
Polished, stood upright and finished. The making record now ends where the work begins.
Photographs are shown in order of the stage they show, from the raw block to the finished work.