Time of Life, an exhibition of woodcut prints by BAT Centre resident artist Isaac Sithole runs in the Menzi Mcunu Gallery from February 9 to March 5. Born and raised in Mozambique, Sithole started learning traditional woodcarving from a friend when he was 12 years old.

At the age of 16, he moved to South Africa and established a link with an artists' workshop. He later moved to the BAT Centre where he worked as a professional woodcarver. Two years ago he discovered woodcut printing, a medium he has embraced with spirit and excellence.

"I am inspired by beauty in the ordinary; I wish to transform the spirit of the living into art," says Sithole. His attitude is reflected in his work which deals with a wide variety of subjects. These range from village scenes radiating the energy of humans in their day-to-day lives to masks, a reminder for Sithole of what once lived and frozen in time to abstract renditions of the complexities of love.

Isaac Sithole has exhibited at a number of galleries in and around Durban, including the Durban Art Gallery, the African Art Centre and the BAT Centre's Democratic Gallery. This is his first solo exhibition as a printmaker. "I want to keep growing, to refine my work and develop through experience and the inspiration that comes from the people around me," he says.