Sand Artist with African Folk Musician
Gauteng
Tawanda Mhandu performs live sand storytelling, accompanied by African folk musicians from Stone Aged Souls and Roots Grown Deep.
A spectacular and uncommon sort of trans-artistic interplay between light, sand, and musical atmosphere is presented. This musical-visual narrative harnesses the power of live "sandimation," a creative and story-telling type of visual animation that inspires audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Mhandu's fingertips skim across the sand, creating a tapestry of visual stories that are projected directly from the light-box to the huge screen for all to see. This living art form is complemented and inspired by instrumental music performed by a select musician-poet or trio from Stone Aged Souls and Roots Grown Deep.
The Stone Aged Souls are a South African band founded in 2010 by visual artist Tawanda Mhandu (Zim) and composer/singer-songwriter Joel Karabo Elliott (USA/RSA). They have performed for a wide range of audiences, including corporate functions and gala dinners, rural village community halls, and arts festivals such as Fete de la Musique, Shindig Awe, and Rocking For Rhinos. across 2013, Alliance Francaise chose them as a featured touring group across southern Africa.
In 2017, they released a sandimation children's film series about African history. They are now working on a massive ensemble piece called The Musical Ecology, which may be watched here.