Artists

Thamsanqa Rutherford (Thami) Jali was born in Lamontville, Durban in 1955. Jali remembers being intrigued by creativity in all its manifestations from a very young age. Jali’s maternal grandmother was his earliest and greatest influence. As a child he saw his grandmother making aeroplanes out of cardboard and using hessian sacks to make her own clothes – this was after she had burnt all the clothes she owned. Jali’s move from Lamontville to Clermont introduced him to a friend whose father was a draughtsman; his exposure ignited his love for drawing.

Jali enrolled to study Law at the University of Zululand in 1976. The academic year was disrupted by the Soweto uprising, he officially commenced his Law studies the following year. He dropped out of Law and later enrolled for a Bachelor of Arts degree – at the same institution – majoring in psychology and philosophy. Jali was later introduced to artists such Kathe Kollwitz, Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, Picasso and Irma Stern through art books. He learnt of the Evangelical Lutheran Art and Craft Centre (ELC) at Rorke’s Drift through the university’s Zululand Festival of African Arts. In 1981 he enrolled at the ELC and graduated with a Certificate of Fine Art in 1982. In 1983 he registered for a Diploma at Natal Technikon (now Durban University of Technology) to study ceramics, but left after two years.

Thami Jali does not subscribe to any rigid stylistic framework. He considers himself to be a man of many styles. Each piece dictates what style it requires, and Jali listens. His style varies from surrealism to a version of realism only Jali can achieve, through the use of charcoal on Fabriano paper. The floating objects and general composition of the acrylic on canvas paintings give off the surrealist energy Jali draws from his relationship with Nukain Mabuza’s work. All the paintings feature Mabuza references, some more subtle than others. Helen Martins and Jali’s grandmother complete the trio of influences that made the completion of his work possible. Mabuza’s influence is more pronounced but all three influences are responsible for the general direction of Jali’s works, particularly his paintings, which can be seen as the exploration of the mind independent of the constraints reality might place on the artist’s imagination.

Jali has exhibited extensively in group shows throughout South Africa and internationally including at the Institute for Contemporary Arts in London, and in New York, and in solo exhibitions in Durban and Pietermaritzburg. His work is represented in major public collections throughout South Africa, including the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg and the Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town.

Biography courtesy of KZNSA Gallery Durban