Curated by Marijke van Velden & Pule Dlothi

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The term ceramics might evoke for many an association with utilitarian and domestic items such as plates, vases and bowls. In recent years, however, ceramics have increasingly gained recognition as a contender in contemporary art. Indeed, clay, being highly malleable, can be shaped into the forms a potter imagines. This exhibition seeks to display such items of artistic consideration. Being the familiar material that ceramics are, which trace cultural expression around the world, this exhibition further seeks to represent a multiplicity of South African identities. Displayed in these ceramic works are elements of the traditional, socio-political, sombre, satirical, and playful.

Curatorial Statement

(Un)Earthed - Exploring contemporary ceramic art in South Africa

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Of all forms of visual art, ceramics are perhaps some of the most ubiquitous. Stretching over millennia and geographic expanses, clay has been exhumed and shaped into culture since the dawn of mankind. Whether it be for artistic and decorative expression, as functional objects, or as artefacts of spiritual practice, ceramic pieces signify identities. These objects, as such, become a nexus between the earth and being human; as much as man has shaped clay, ceramics have shaped the human race. Yet, whilst durable enough to carry buried messages across empires, the substance of fired clay is at once fragile. Handling, transportation, and indeed preservation of ceramic objects require intentional care. The interpretation of ceramic artefacts excavated from the past is often read in ‘cracked code’; many vessels dating from eras past exist only in part, due to their brittle composition. An analogy, perhaps, for history itself? This exhibition seeks to draw out clues about the representation of our collective South African identities, past and present - whether it be through the domestic, the sacred, or symbols of social allegiance.

Okuvunjululweyo - Uphicotho lobugcisa bezinto zodongwe olutshisiweyo bale mihla eMzantsi Afrika