Cole Stirling

“Born and raised in Zimbabwe, my passion for the wilds of Africa started at an early age. Some of my earliest memories include waking up for dawn drives in Hwange National Park or sitting for hours at one of the numerous waterholes, to see what came to drink. I was in my element.

Art came as a by-product of this love for nature and a way to express this passion. From childhood, I was sketching my favourite animals, trying to replicate pictures from the numerous field guides I had started to collect. At Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa, this hobby was then honed, when I completed a Fine Art degree. Although I focused on photography, I never gave up drawing and sketching. My photography helped inform my drawing and conceptualise pieces I had in my mind’s eye.

Whilst living and working in London, I have continued to work on my drawing and photography, taking every opportunity I can, to get out in the field. Completing field and trails guide qualifications in South Africa in 2015, gave me an even greater appreciation for the natural world, which I now try to incorporate into my work.

I have always been drawn to the nostalgia of monochrome imagery, especially in photography, and feel that it informed my approach to my artworks. The simplicity which this approach allows is something I have always found appealing and is a feature I strive for in my works. And being colour-blind, this also comes in quite handy!”