Lifestyle profile – Atang Tshikane
Born to an artistic family, it’s clear that creativity run through the veins of ATANG TSHIKARE, 36. This intenationally recognised artist takes us through his creative process.
Born in Bloemfontein and raised in Thaba-Nchu by a very artistic family, Tshikare, fell in love with art at a young age. “I was more into art than sport and was greatly influenced by my father’s illustrations and story-telling style; we both tell our stories through our work,” he says. Even though he studied graphic design at Free State Technikon, Tshikare has never worked as a graphic designer. Instead, “I became an illustrator, surface designer and sculpture, often taking inspiration from music, clothing, people and nature.”
It was in 2008 when patrons started paying for his creations, that he started becoming serious about art as a business. But only in 2012 did he register Zabalazaa, the name he now sells all his work under. His work includes collaborations which, he says have challenged his creative skills.
“These include, among other well-known names, Adidas Original and Mr Price Home. But this is not all I’ve done. My career highlights also include being part of the Southern Guild that was held at the Everard Read Gallery, in Rosebank, Joburg.” He adds that the exhibition resulted in him being invited to the Dubai international exhibition. “Within the first three days of the Dubai showing, all my art had been sold and new requests started piling up! There’s been no shortage of work and I’ve travelled to events such as Design Miami, Switzerland, Vienna and Amsterdam,” explains the art fundi.
Tshikare likes working with kids and is happy that he’s featured on a Grade 7 book, talking about his work of customising shoes. The artist is currently commissioned by Nandos to create geometric patterns on wood and metal. “I’m working on this project with my wife, Tlalane, who’s currently busy with her MA in linguistics at UCT. The three pieces we are creating will be shown in Design Miami with Southern Guild 2016/2017,” he concludes.