'Pure craziness': The man who makes art from sewing machines and shovels

What do the following have in common – a wedding carriage and horses, a pint-sized jet and a buffalo that would please Cyril Ramaphosa?

They’re all the work of Lazarus Kufakunesu, a steel sculptor and businessman who makes a living by balancing creativity, cash flow and marketing savvy.

Armed with angle grinders, a welding machine and hand tools, Kufakunesu and his All Hand Done team turn scrap metal into art, letting the materials dictate the details.

His creations don’t make it into posh galleries to be sniffed at by art snobs, but they do stop ordinary people in their tracks, and get them reaching for their wallets.

His work certainly won plenty of admirers at the Splashy Fen music festival, near Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal, over the Easter long weekend.

Revellers took turns climbing into the saddle of his 800kg “Harley-Davidson” sculpture, and his aeroplane and train on tracks near the festival main tent proved a hit.

Kufakunesu was invited by the organisers to bring his work to add to the festival’s arty buzz.

For his troubles he was given a stall and a contribution to his transport costs.

Sewing machines, clutch plates and imagination

The 38-year-old is an old hand at big events, which he values as an opportunity for marketing – over and above any cash sales he might make.

He is a regular at Decorex, the decor and design indabas in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. He’s also traded at the Grahamstown and Hilton arts festivals and exhibited at the Royal Show in Pietermartizburg.

City Press recently met Kufakunesu at his outdoor showroom and workshop in Assagay, in Durban’s Outer West.

The Zimbabwean artist, who came to South Africa in the early 1990s, showed us how he takes anything from a discarded sewing machine to a pile of worn-out clutch plates and lets his imagination take off.

His helicopter sculpture, for example, uses a discarded fax machine for a make-believe comms system; repurposes a truck strap tensioning ratchet for a control lever; and has welded-together shovels for a main rotor.

'Just pure craziness'

“Just pure craziness,” is how Kufakunesu described it. But when it comes to business, the artist’s feet are on the ground.

He said the helicopter and other big pieces signalled to the market that he was a serious player.

They separate him from the competition who were reluctant to invest time and energy in big pieces, or wait long for a big sale.

“I’ll wait. There is always a customer for every piece,” said Kufakunesu, adding that while practising patience he hires the big sculptures to event organisers.

His 1.2-ton carriage and horses, for example, were popular with wedding planners.

The big sculptures take a few months to complete and Kufakunesu spends a few hours a day on them. They are a break from his bread-and-butter work, the smaller ornamental pieces for garden centres.

Kufakunesu stressed the importance of a regular turnover of small pieces, from about R50. These kept the cash register ticking over so bills could be paid and materials bought.

He said he loves making art but insisted artist-entrepreneurs must never lock themselves away in their workshops, obsessing over the creative process.

They must get out of their workshops and go to shows to meet potential customers.

“They give you ideas,” he said, “People and their comments, their negative comments especially. Juggle both.”

All Hand Done employs two or three welder-metal workers on a contract basis. That way, said Kufakunesu, he doesn’t have to worry about wages when times are tight. But when there’s a big order, he calls on a circle of artisan contacts to help out.

'Everyone has potential'

Kufakunesu and his wife of 11 years, Philisile, have a similar staffing philosophy for the patio furniture business they run as a sideline.

They pay a carpenter on a piecework basis to build frames for chairs and tables. These are then sent out to the “loxions”, where a network of women weavers complete the job.

Pricing must be keen and Kufakunesu said trade clients pay two-thirds of the retail price. He said he makes a point of swapping out any goods that trade customers were struggling to sell.

Overseas buyers, he said, were demanding about the discounts and types of pieces they wanted, but worth the effort.

The father of three credits his wife with playing a big role in the business and helping with his 12 hour-plus work days.

At any time he has more than 50 ideas for projects in his head but still finds time to give private lessons to would-be artists.

“Everyone has the potential to use their hands,” he said.

And their heads, it would seem.

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