Iyozala nkomoni na? IsiXhosa phrase which loosely translates as ‘How will it turn out?’

A deep familiarity is revisited in this body of new work. Born and raised in rural Ngqeleni near Mthatha the surrounding landscape was our playground, we knew all its variations, from valleys and stones to hills and big rock formations. Returning to these landscapes as an older person evokes memories of childhood, of sorting through rocks and stones for the foundation of a new home, passing the same rocks every day on the way to school, or dipping cattle on a certain day of the week at the place I also sourced raw clay. I see these rocks in a more sculptural way now, as simple, abstract shapes of landscape history.

Seam lines on the rocks act as the well-trodden pathways we traversed as children, and indentations invoke paths from home to school, the weekly cattle dips and sourcing of clay. Surfaces are left natural and raw. Nkomoni na? reinforces my present view of these spaces through manipulation of clay, employing a combination of techniques namely, imprinting, mould-making, screen-printing, supplemented materials and placing on canvas as 3-D paintings. The artworks trigger spatial awareness, landscape familiarity, and childhood ramblings.

A ceramic artist sits permanently on the edge of unpredictability, and it is this uncertainty that propels material exploration and reflection. Clay will always be a platform for enquiry and discovery, for anticipation and mistakes. The phrase, Iyozala nkomoni na? is never far from a ceramicist’s thoughts.