Ernest Tarwireyi is the first born in a family of 5 boys and 2 girls. He did his education in the rural areas of Chihota. However, he did not complete his O’Level education because of financial problems.
He joined the trek to the city in search of greener pastures and worked as a jackhammer operator at a construction company. After almost 3 years, he began working with his Uncle Sylvester Mubayi, one of the founding fathers of Shona Art. His uncle initially gave him tools and small stones to work on. Soon he realised that he had hidden talent to carve stones.
Ernest has a deep-seated love for animals, which is reflected in his work. His art form always has an environment motif. He prefers carving animals, abstracts and spirits. His rural background could be the reason why he is so interested in animal figures.
His first major exhibition was at the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe in 1995, 3 years after he had taken up the trade of Shona Sculpturing. Ernest has plans to be the best like his uncle. He is aware that this can only be achieved through hard work and tremendous support from both the buyers and the other artists.