James Phiri is one of three children and is the second born. He is married with two children, a boy and a girl. He went to school at Nyanhunzi Primary school in Guruve and then on to Secondary school in Epworth near Harare until he was 15 years old. Both his parents passed away so he could not complete his O’Level’s, a common story amongst school children in Zimbabwe. He started sculpting in 2004. He specializes in abstract flower forms primarily inspired by the tobacco plant. Phiri's work has been exhibited in the United States, Germany, Netherlands, and Great Britain.