Alex Shabalala
Originally from KwaZulu-Natal, Alex has always been interested in working with his hands. As a child, he made toys out of waste materials that he collected and played with clay.
From Grade 7, he taught art at the Sbonokuhle Primary
School and then at Mpophomeni, where he and friends had a studio called Amacikwesizwa Visual Art, near Howick. He also attended art workshops in print making at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Early in his career, Alex worked on linocuts and canvases.
“In 2013 I came to Johannesburg with the hope of fulfilling my ambition as an artist,“ says Alex.
“I work in earthenware and terracotta clay and use underglaze paint, which is water based and glazed with a transparent glaze before being fired in a kiln at between 1000 to 1200 degrees centigrade.”
Underglaze is a method of decorating pottery in which the decoration is applied to the surface before it is glazed.
My work is inspired by African wildlife and the heritage of Africa.
