I’ve been surrounded by art my entire life. My father was an acclaimed sculptor who specialized in wildlife and painted in oils in Zimbabwe. I first started at the age of five doing rhinos and finishing my fathers’ pieces. I honed my skills and sold my first collection of birds and turtles at the tender age of ten. Since then, I have been completely absorbed by animals, the human figure and sculpture, the movement and anatomy of animals and human form.
I try to capture the essence of my subject by capturing a certain moment of what is happening. My work is about the soul of my subject, not just the outer form worked to perfection. I have made my way from understanding my material and the possibilities it gives me to shaping the intangible of an idea, an image or a concept.
There are different ways for me to get inspired. The sculpture might develop from an idea that forms in my mind. Textures create an image. Or I might travel thousands of miles to find an unexplored quarry where I wander around and listen to the stone calling out to me to be worked. Quite often I see in the freshness of nature the complete sculpture in a random stone.
the masters like Donatello, Bernini and Rodin taught me a lot about the different forms the human body can be presented in. To choose the right expression and media for an idea is the task that sets apart my work.
I have used many types of media including alabaster, zebrastone, wonderstone and various semi-precious stones from Zimbabwe. I have also used wood, wax, metal, cement, bronze, granite, marble, picturestone, sandstone and jasper from South Africa, Italy, Namibia and Madagascar.
My current work has been predominantly bronze and am enjoying this type of media because itoffers a lot of freedom in creativity that I had not enjoyed in the past. It allows me delicate compositions because of the strength and durability, not to mention longevity. Bronze is fast becoming my favorite medium, using wax and clay to make the master before casting in bronze allows me to be very creative with the textures and compositions like never before
I consider it a challenge to catch the movement of the human form in its endless variations.Working in the silence of the desert is like a retreat, where often sculptures start taking shape, getting their first overall expression. Moving stones that weigh several tons is a refreshing exercise to me. The transition between raw material and finished piece keeps me excited all along the process of creation.
