The Nabulime Profile
I have enjoyed my life as an Artist mainly as a Sculptor carving wood. It had never crossed my mind that I would be a sculptor. When I embarked on my Master`s Degree, I was advised to offer sculpture because I had performed well at undergraduate level. I always knew I would proceed with painting, but today sculpture is my best form of expression. Once in a while I paint, do applique using various materials like barkcloth, textiles, jute, sisal and others.
During my masters program I worked on tree roots. It was a great experience. Prior to this roots were not valued, they were used for firewood or left to rot.
As I worked on them I discovered that they offered unique forms which had to be studied in order to derive artistic inspirations. Each root was unique because it grows under the ground where it found different obstacles which they fought and struggled with, ending up in different forms. Roots were very expressive, grotesque forms which infused me with strong emotions. With roots I often chose to distort and exaggerate the forms in order to express a particular message.
Usually when I work, I have ideas in sketches and models. As I start carving wood, various ideas, messages creep into my mind and that calls for more sketches and more models leading to more sculptures. And this calls for time and space which I yearn for!