Sven Christian [SC]: You were here for the initial Carving X workshop in 2022. How would you differentiate between the kind of work you were making then and now? 

Ben Tuge [BT]: So 2022 was a bit different. Collaboration was the focus. We were free to come up with whatever, but there was an understanding that most of the work that we were doing was as a group. As a group you’re free, but you must understand and respect that your ideas are not necessarily the same as the others. In this instance I just make the decision myself. I’m more passionate about storytelling and am just  focussing on a single piece. It’s a sculpture – a relief – that is more social / political. A relief, as I understand it, is a carving from a panel or surface that is raised. It doesn’t matter how far one goes. You can work on a five-millimetre panel or go much deeper. As long as you do not complete the carving, as long as it’s raised, that’s a relief. I’m working on a round trunk. It gives me space to go deeper.

SC: At some point you decided to bring photographic elements into this work, and colour. Could you talk about that? There’s also not an easy differentiation between the figures and other aspects. It feels camouflaged. 

BT: When there is a good thing to write home about, you write good things. If there’s nothing, then you have to talk about the bad things. In this instance I’m trying to talk about the political situation in my country, Zimbabwe. It’s been going on for long. The reasons why we are where we are; why it’s happening... I’ve painted and included photos of the real participants in this political scene, as well as statements made by leaders in society. And then the persecution. People are being arrested for gathering in groups of ten or more. That’s a dictatorship. Recently there was a guy, he’s now in his mid-70s, who was arrested. He’s been fighting this regime for years. 

So I’ve included photos of activists and corrupt people. SADC – a regional body in Southern Africa – that oversees what’s happening in different countries, has been supporting this regime for many years. To my utter disgust, the 2023 elections were stolen. Everybody knows about it and we complain to SADC and at the end of the day they are still going to give it to the illegitimate leader, which is a shock to me. He stole the election. 

And now, you also have people living in neighbouring countries. The people that have been attacking people from Zimbabwe are mostly in South Africa. Yes, many come illegally, but you can imagine a woman, carrying a baby on her back, crossing the flooded, crocodile-infested Limpopo river, risking her life and that of the child. And you must understand, this is at night, in the bush, where there are high chances of being raped or killed by the people who assisted them, so you look at the courage of that woman. She is not coming to South Africa because she wants to buy nice things, like potatoes or ice cream. It’s not about that. It’s about trying to say to the neighbour, ‘This is the situation. I cannot help myself. I need to be helped by you.’ I’m not coming here to commit crime. This is my message to say people must understand this situation. 

SC: Why this particular form? You’ve given a range of examples, so it’s not one particular story that you’re trying to tell, but a multitude rooted in the same context. What is unique about this form in telling those stories?

BT: In terms of telling the story, it’s an important and interesting question. The reason is, there’s a lot happening. There are different forms of human rights abuses that contribute, that can be spelled out through this work. So, the title is Living in Fear (2024). Back home, you live in fear. Wherever you go, especially in South Africa, you also live in fear. Vigilantism is part and parcel of life here. 

You’re being asked about your papers by the general public, which is not the norm. Why? The chances of you being attacked are very high. You can’t just walk around with your papers. It’s your passport. Where you come from you live in fear. Where you are, or where you want to find refuge, you also live in fear. It’s to do with many forces that are contributing to the human rights abuse of the people of Zimbabwe. SADC is contributing. Vigilante groups are contributing. Some political opposition parties are also contributing. The lies and corruption happening in Zimbabwe is contributing. I’ve just captured everything and put it in one relief, to tell the story, to send as a message, so people understand. If you look at the top,  you can only see the heads. They are suffocating, being suppressed. 

SC: I still want to bring this back to the question of form, though. You could have made a documentary to tell those stories, but you chose sculpture.

BT: I use my art to communicate. As much as it is important for me to tell stories, I would have loved to look at people looking at my sculpture, having to understand the situation of a particular group of people through my art, as a document of events, be it social, political… It’s more to do with certain aspects of life and society that I would love to see captured in my work. There are so many stories out there, but there are also those that we are trying to understand. So, you say, ’You know what, we cannot live a lie and say life goes on as it is.’ It’s about awareness; pointing out the permanent damage, because I’m talking about three decades – a lifetime of destruction. There are a lot of people having to live apart as families because of this, so for me it is very critical that we talk about it, and document it, so that people will understand, because this will live on and people will be able to revisit it and understand. What happened? 

SC: So it’s the consistency of the form, as something that is always present, as opposed to a documentary which starts and ends? 

BT: There’s a permanent damage that can never be undone, for the people of my country, and I would like that to be viewed as a memory, as in people having to remember what happened. As an artist, I try to make people understand. It’s a sculpture that will be forever and people will obviously revisit it and look at it and say this is what the artist was talking about. He was expressing himself based on what was happening in a particular society or country. So that’s all to do with my understanding of what is happening, and my skill as an artist to communicate, because I am a storyteller, and I am interested in this story. I want to talk about this.