Growth by Stanley Mutanga in Leopard Stone
The title of this sculpture is “Growth.” Each of the lines represents a stage or a chapter in a person’s life or career. For Stanley, the smallest line represents his apprenticeship, when he started working with stone. Next comes a time period in which he worked in various collectives, eventually starting a home studio and helping to start the Simukai project. The third line is textured differently. It refers to the current era in which Stanley has started to travel the world to share his artwork, beginning with a trip to Canada to be the first visiting artist at Gunguo Art & History Farm. After the current era, many other lines are apparent, showing the possibility of chapters to come. So too, Stanley urges viewers to realize that the current stage of their life or career is temporary, and many possibilities lie ahead.