An odd-job man with a shapely talent
Kaalvoet Jaco, whose real name is Jaco de Kock, had been working in construction for almost 20 years. He is called Kaalvoet Jaco because he never wears shoes.
MARLOTH PARK – Sculpting is, for Kaalvoet Jaco (49), a hobby that started eight years ago. He had never done it before in his life, but was curious as to what more he could make out of sand and cement.
Kaalvoet Jaco, whose real name is Jaco de Kock, had been working in construction for almost 20 years. He is called Kaalvoet Jaco because he never wears shoes.
“I started in my house in Pretoria and a neighbour saw me and asked me to do it for him,” he said. He did, and it is from there that he improved his skill. Through word of mouth, he started getting orders to do more animal sculptures in cement, both in Pretoria and Johannesburg.
De Kock moved to Marloth Park four years ago to escape the big city rush, and has never looked back. It has also given him a new environment to practise his hobby. Currently, his sculptures can be seen at the Marlothi Shopping Centre, where visitors can see his hippos on the ground and other animal sculptures on the wall.
“I like sculpting wildlife,” he said. “I have never done people before. Maybe I could if I wanted to, but I enjoy animals.”
He explained that it takes him up to three days to complete a sculpture. “The ones on the wall take longer to do because I am working against gravity and sculpting with cement and not clay, so I can only do one a day.”
This is, for De Kock, not a career at the moment, but should more people find interest in it, it could be. He currently does odd jobs around town fixing things, but said should people be interested in his sculptures, he is more than happy to do it for them.
“I currently work through word of mouth and I take it from there.”
