About Me

Introduction

My name is Robert Nzali. I am a professional sculpture artist specialising in African Wildlife art in wood and stone

Youth and inspiration

I was born in Plumtree in a rural area called KoMpini near Thekwane School. I did my schooling at that very same Thekwane School.

As a rural boy I grew up herding cattle. As the cattle grazed l would relax by sitting under a tree listening to the birds sing and enjoy the quietness, peace and tranquility that comes with nature in the African bush. I had a great sense of being part and parcel of this wonderful nature. There were plenty of dead and dying trees about that had died from natural causes like droughts and aging. I fell in love with the unique beauty of natural cracks and holes that characterized this dead wood. Everytime I looked at the dead wood I would be attracted by the shapes of what looked like animals and human figures, some holes in the wood looked like the eyes of animals and human figures. I would feel sad to see people gathering this beautiful wood to make fire. Such beautiful wood turned to ashes.

As young boys herding cattle we would collect mud from water sources and mould it into images of animals and human figures. At the age of 13 years old I had started carving small objects that people could use in the kitchen and my mother would proudly use these in her kitchen. I was carving with the hand tools that I got from my grandpa. But all the time those images of animals and human figures in the wood kept coming back to me. I guess that was the beginning of my sculpting journey.

Schooling

At school I used to love drawing and l would help the teacher with the drawing of school charts. The teacher noticed and encouraged me to pursue a career in Art and referred me to the Mzilikazi Art and Craft Centre. It was there that I intended to do drawing and painting. When I got there the art teacher saw my drawing and recommend I join the sculpture class. It was here that I created and sold the first piece l made. As they say the rest is history.

Gratitude

I would like to thank everyone who has played a part in my sculpting journey, far to many to mention. I would especially like to to thank my mother who is an artist in her own right, specializing in basketry.