Farai Darare
1980 – 2005 | Zimbabwe
Farai Walter Darare was a member of the SHONA tribe in Zimbabwe.
Farai Darare, was born in Murewa, Zimbabwe, on March 16th 1980. Farai started working as a washer and polisher for his father (Casper Darare Sculptures) and started carving when he was just seven years old. His father wanted his son to go to college and university, but Farai said once sculpting is in you, you can never get it out. Inspired to become an artist by his very famous father, Casper Darare, when he graduated in 1996, he started selling his pieces full time.
He worked and studied under the renowned Shona sculptors Chikumbirike, Runyanga, Muropa, and his father Casper Darare.
He took pieces to South Africa to sell and eventually stayed and worked with his father there for four years until his father tragically passed away in June 2001. After his father’s death, Farai returned to Zimbabwe. Even though he lost his father, Farai continued to create thought-provoking pieces.
His early work specialised in abstract pieces which feature people with hands joining to form flowing twists and arches symbolizing harmony and unity. “To you, all my buyers, I hope and believe you will enjoy my beautiful pieces.”
At first, he started out with creative abstracts but soon he was carving busts and realist pieces. “I think and feel that I have my father’s touch. My strength lies in my ability to create the exact work my father used to carve”. Farai said that women are the source of my inspiration. He loved to sculpt them, to uncover their inner beauty. He felt that women are not respected or appreciated enough, and he wanted to let the world know how important they are. “They are our mothers, sisters or daughters; they look after us and care so much about us. They are soft and warm and loving.”
Farai’s work is very creative, original, and well-polished. He was an enthusiastic and dedicated artist with great things ahead. His pieces are very popular and can be found in private collections all over the world.
The pieces he did with Casper have been exhibited in Southern Africa, Holland, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, and the United States of America.
Farai passed away in c 2005 as a result of attempting to rescue a drowning man in a flash flood. We are sad to lose another Darare carving genius.