Painting - Oil on Paper - Bride Price 2

A one-off painting by artist Zach Mukwira using oil on paper and hand-cut low relief detail. Zach's artworks are inspired by African legends and traditions, his own creative fantasy, and the emotions common to all cultures and ages. Over the years he has developed his own unique style using techniques learned from print-making.

Here he talks about his depictions of girl and cow in Bride Price, a theme he returns to  regularly in his paintings, this being his most recent interpretation, "Lobolo is a token of appreciation as part of the marriage rites, paid in cows to the bride’s family. In my paintings I usually put in one cow. Out of the 10 cows that might be the bride price, one special one might be singled out and given directly to the bride’s parents as a thank you for giving their daughter. If people did not have cows in the old days they might give hoes, the iron in the tools was also valuable for working the land."