Tracey Chitsama is one of a handful of female sculptors in Zimbabwe which is traditionally dominated by males.
Tracy was inspired to try sculpting by her father and artist Stephen Chatsama at a tender age but it took some time for collectors to start to really appreciate her as a serious artist. She is married to another sculptor and between them, their success has allowed the couple to educate their children up to university level.
"I feel great because there is a lot of competition here. I can even sell, I can even come out with my name for myself. I am very proud of that,"
Nicknamed the hippo-lady, Tracey uses her considerable technical and artistic skills to explore the universal qualities of motherhood depicted through the medium of interacting Hippos.
"My theme is love. A mother loves. So I wanted to show that even if a person is someone who can be unreachable, but when it comes to be a mother, you will become soft, you will become someone who can be loved."
Tracey’s work has been exhibited extensively in countries as far afield as Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, USA and the Netherlands.