This painting was made by a victim of the civil war, an innocent man who had his left hand brutally chopped off.
This picture was painted by an 11-year-old Sierra Leonean boy who witnessed the struggles of his country.
Very few Sierra Leoneans paint as a form of art. Most Sierra Leonean women create art in the form of crafts, such as gara dyeing. However, the brutal civil war that took place in the nation is now a form of inspiration for some Sierra Leonean artists.
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This painting was made by a victim of the civil war, an innocent man who had his left hand brutally chopped off. |
This picture was painted by an 11-year-old Sierra Leonean boy who witnessed the struggles of his country. |
Sculpting has been a popular art form in Sierra Leone since native tribes in the 1400s.
This head is known by the Sherbro group of Sierra Leone as mahen yafe, or 'the chief's devil'. It may have been a portrait commemorating the memory of a dead chief. It was a very sacred object and was kept hidden. The village diviner appealed to the spirit of the head to bring good fortune or to grant wishes.
This sculpture was created by the Sherbro people on Sherbro Island sometime during the 15th or 16th century.
The Kisi Tribe, which this statue came from, is related to the Sherbro and Temne tribes of the same area, living on both sides of the Guinea-Sierra Leone frontier. This particular tribe is known for their stone figures which are highly original due to the prominence of wood in other parts of the continent. The figures themselves are called Pomtan (the singular is pomdo). A common factor in the design of the Pomdo is the archaic smile and the rough, natural feel of the stone. The sculpture would have been part of an ancestor cult but would have also been used in divination. The sculpture itself depicts a man of wisdom and knowledge. He carries two sacks on either side and holds a sword in one hand and a spear in the other. The headpiece is the most striking, with the elaborate horns of a ram. Though the craftsmanship as a whole is relatively crude, the expression is very real, and demonstrates the creativity and originality of the tribal designs.