Zimbabwe

Houses of stone

Nation: Zimbabwe National Day: 13.08.00

With its high, slanting walls and conical towers, Zimbabwe's presentation recalls the ruins of its old forts. The "houses of stone" which gave the country its name, were erected more than a thousand years ago. And the artistic stone-working traditions of the Shona tribe are even older.

An impressive sculpture garden has been created in the enclosed "courtyard" of the exhibition stand. Stone sculptures by modern Zimbabwe artists such as Dominic Benhura ("Our friend with HIV") and Bernard Materma ("The blind man") portray an unembellished picture of society.

Water trickles from a curved wall in the background. Musi-Ua-Tunya - thundering mist - is what the natives of Zimbabwe call the famous Victora Falls. The motto of the presentation shimmers through the "water curtain": Zimbabwe - forming the future.