Sculptural artist Alan Meyburgh's love of animals, the environment and conservation has helped forge a career seeing his work installed in some of the world's most impressive locations including Dubai, South Africa and closer to home in local galleries and wineries.
Before living in the South West, Meyburgh grew up on a merino stud farm in South Africa.
"My mother tells me I was pretty good at sculpting from the age of three," he said. "We used to go down to the river on the farm, we would dig out the clay from a riverbank then bring it back home and start making little animals.
They would sort the merino fleece on a table and mix together the oil and sand, which they would scrape off using a mower blade.
"It would be rolled into a ball of clay and we would use it to make little animals, it was one of the best mediums and so good for your skin as well.
"Clay modelling was the start for me then I progressed onto doing all sorts of stuff."
Kickstarting his career, Meyburgh made small birds. His brother-in-law then asked him to make a sculpture of a dog in a professional capacity, which was cast in bronze.
"They were quite realistic and quite detailed, I loved the fine detail and could make faces, have veins running down the feet and nails - everything," he said.
"I have always been aware of the form and that was really good grounding for me and doing what I do now.
"That overall look of a sculpture is essential and the detail is far less important than looking at something from a distance.
"I really focus on the form, the balance then a movement. I love natural forms. The challenge for me is creating the illusion of movement. I love the story behind each piece and where the materials come from."
Meyburgh sources material from everywhere, taking off cuts from steel fabricators often bartering or offering a case of beer to swap.
He has recently worked with the Tangaroa Blue Foundation, an organisation dedicated to the removal and prevention of marine debris. His first piece in Sculpture by the Bay was made using rope found on beach clean ups.
"It is called Trapping Ourselves, it is a fish trap metaphor," he said. "My big driver is the environment, it is really important to me, that piece is almost 100 percent recycled.
"I love the metaphoric side of art and for me it always almost links back to conservation and the environment.
"I love being out there and what it offers us, I certainly hope the world wakes up and realises that without the lungs of the world, without the forests and the oceans we are pretty doomed. We have to wake up and slow down that process."
Meyburgh has spent the last year producing a mass of work after he was separated from his family through the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Some of the top galleries in Cape Town had invited us in to show my work, I had a studio setup, everything," he said.
"I was stuck here and they were over there, I did not see my kids for a year, it was a pretty rough year. I got stuck into my studio and went crazy and made stuff, I had commissions coming out of my ears.
"I put myself out there, I was ready to do some stuff and was in this weirdly emotional satisfied state, I just produced so much work last year, it was a real springboard for me."
Meyburgh is currently working on a piece to be installed at Origins Market in Busselton and has his work featured at Bay Gallery in Dunsborough. He is also available for commissions.
