WORKING WITH
JUNK
Writer: Karen Beattie Photography: Project Luangwa
F
rederick Phiri makes his living from junk. His is a young man who knows that it is up to him to make his way in life despite, or maybe because of, a hard start.
Frederick’s childhood story is not dissimilar to that of others in Zambia. His father died in the same year that Frederick started school, and the young boy was sent away from the family home in Mfuwe to live with his grandfather in Chipata whilst his mother and younger siblings went to live in Lusaka. His grandfather was not a rich man but managed to send Frederick to primary school. ‘But when I qualified for a place at Chipata Day Secondary it became a struggle to find school fees,’ Frederick explains, ‘and in any case my grandfather was thinking that I would not pay much attention at school because I liked art and music.’ During his years at secondary school Frederick was often chased from school when his fees had not been paid, and so by grade 11 he was working as a golf caddy to pay the fees himself.
In the school holidays he often went back to Mfuwe to stay with his cousin and it was there that he returned after completing grade 12. He learnt to make animals from snare wire to sell to tourists and would tour the local safari lodges hoping they would stock them in their
craft shops. In early 2017 he called into the Project Luangwa craft shop, and as sales are better when the craftsman is seen working, was given a small area in which to sit, make and sell his work. Over the rainy season of 2017–2018 he was taught to weld when working with welder Moses Mbewe and helped make a beautiful set of doors for the Project Luangwa coffee shop. An inkling of an idea was born in the mind of a Project Luangwa director who gave Frederick an assortment of metal junk with the instructions, ‘ See what you can make from that’. Some days later Frederick arrived back at the shop with his first creation, a crowned crane that started out as a padlock. Next came an elephant, followed by more animals and Frederick’s sculptures began to sell. Working with Project Luangwa, Frederick’s skills are developing but there is no denying that he has a natural artistic talent. Original metal components, keys, padlocks, springs— even spark plugs— feature in his work, sometimes left intact and sometimes ground down, making his work and every piece unique.
Frederick’s dream is to study at art college and make art his life as well as his career.
TRAVEL & LEISURE ZAMBIA
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