Lucky Makamu

Biography

Lucky Makamu was born in 1962 in Gazankulu and is Shangaan by birth. Now settled in Venda, he has exhibited his carved wooden sculptures and totem figures at exhibitions in Johannesburg.

Lucky began his carving career by producing small items for the passing tourism trade. However, in 1989 his ‘real work’ began on the large carvings for which he is well known. Religious imagery features strongly in his work that seems to reflect an eternal struggle between his traditional African beliefs and the more western-based religions.

Three of Lucky’s very latest pieces are large wooden totem figures, which are adorned with brass, copper and iron. They were completed over a period of years during the 1990s. He has kept them hidden from visitors and has only recently let them be seen.