​Contemporary South African Art

Ref:  Kalk Bay Modern

Thamae was born in 1971 on the farm Makriel in the Ghanzi Dsitrict.  He joined the Kuru Art Project in 1992. 

His large swirling compositions and unusual colour combinations were met with great enthusiasm by art lovers.  Thamae combines known animals with imagined ones and as a result, they are amusing and charming.  He comments that these caricatures of animals stem from his childhood memories of hunting trips with his father.  As a small boy, the animals they encountered were enormous and frightening.  In his dreams they transformed into the caricatures he now likes to represent in his art, and over the years, they have lost their grotesque appearances and are now comical fantasy characters.  "Why should I not make people laugh?  Anyhow, I think people love the fun in my art."

Thamae has great respect for his culture and traditions.  "The old people tell me where to go with my art and with everything I do."  As a result, he paints stories he has heard from them.  He loves to paint extremely large canvases but also enjoys making lino prints, etchings and lithographs.

Thamae has always been interested in woodcarving and used to make beautiful little carvings which he sold at the Kuru Craft shop.  After attending a sculpture workshop at the Kuru Art Project his wooden sculptures became more sophisticated.  Together with the Kuru Art Project Thamae's work has been exhibited worldwide and has been reproduced in the Kuru Art Calender and other publications. 1

1: The Kuru Art Project