By Firmaın Eric Mbadinga
Twenty-six-year-old Cyril Biyoghe from Gabon says he gets immeasurable satisfaction from carving a stone locally known as Mbigou.
Of course he gets an income from the sculptures, but the positive reviews he receives from customers offer him greater gratification.
In Alibandeng district located in Gabon's capital Libreville, Cyril is a celebrity. Standing at 5'6 tall, and wearing a near-permanent smile, he is easy to pick out of a crowd.
In his work, he has shaped the Mbigou stone into almost everything – a sculpture of a human body, animal replicas, inanimate objects… you name it.
Childhood motivation
Cyril is a member of Mbigou stone artists, a leading association in Libreville.
"My mother worked at a shop located near the Mbigou stone sculptors' workshop. During my childhood, I would get fascinated seeing the artists transform stones into beautiful works of art," Cyril tells TRT Afrika.
A health problem forced him out of school in his teenage years. He, thereafter, decided to pursue stone art.
Mbigou stone is the main material that Cyril centres his craft around. The stone is white, grayish-green or brown colour.
'Art that intrigues the customer'
In the early days of history, people could travel from far-off places to Alibandeng to buy the Mbigou stone, whose value is determined by its weight.
Other factors that determine the stone's pricing include the weather season. It is usually more tasking to extract the stone during the rainy season.
Cyril says during sculpting, his main aim is to transform the stone into an art that intrigues the customer.
One of his foremost sculptures is that of a man seated on a bench, while playing a wooden musical instrument.
Preserving Gabon's culture
"The old man in the art work is surrounded by nine masks which represent Gabon's provinces. By playing the traditional musical instrument, he is reminding the young Gabonese people of their culture, and why it is important to preserve it," Cyril says.
In another art work, Cyril sculpted an image of a man returning home with a bag on his back.
Cyril observes that most of his customers are tourists, both local and international.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which saw many international flights grounded, presented a difficult period for Cyril's business.
He says he earns between $100 and $200 for a single art work on good days.
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