(Clay pot by Clive Sithole)The Durban Art Gallery recently hosted the launch of Zulu Pottery, the result of the love affair of American author, Elizabeth Perrill ,with the spiritually-charged South African art-form of the same name. Over nine years she has documented contemporary Zulu ceramics from the deep rural areas where these traditions are kept alive to the heart of Durban where newer artists are transforming the art with innovation.
The publication is tied to a deep artistic history and the history of Zulu identity in KwaZulu-Natal. For traditionalists who continue traditional Zulu spiritual practices, pottery is integrally linked to the worship of one’s ancestors. A clay pot remains a respectful vessel to present to one’s ancestors, which is why the art medium has been able to survive social and political transitions.
Women have historically been the potters in Zulu culture, but today men - and even people who are not Zulu-speaking - are producing Zulu-inspired ceramics. Increasingly, ceramic artists are using the medium for individual self-expression.
Zulu Pottery is an absorbing read accompanied by beautiful photographs. It takes the reader on a journey through the art-form - from the founding mothers, including the legendary Nesta Nala, whose legacies live on in national and international art museums; to the varying regions and contexts in which pots are prepared, constructed, decorated and fired – and the expansion of the art through young artists.
Zulu ceramics today are a distinct and integral part of the global ceramic art world. The form has been compared with the traditions of ceramics in the American Southwest, particularly pueblo pottery and the legacy of Maria Martinez. Perrill has travelled internationally, speaking on Zulu ceramics in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Africa and she will be visiting the International Folk Art Festival in July 2012 to interview Thembi Nala, daughter of the late Nesta Nala.
In the foreword to Zulu Pottery, curator of the Vukani Zulu Cultural Museum, Vivienne Garside, comments that the author’s knowledge of Zulu pottery has won her a fan club, from the humblest of Zulu homes to museologists and other experts throughout KwaZulu-Natal.
Perrill studied isiZulu over five years to be able to understand the complexity and nuance of the language and culture, and has lived in KwaZulu-Natal for more than two years in total between 2004 and the present. Her proudest moment recently was visiting families she has known for years with her three-month old baby and new husband. “Sitting side-by-side on grass mats with potters, my daughter was passed around rooms of women and created a fresh dynamic and sense of trust with families I now consider to be close friends”.
Teachers, collectors and the general public will find the book an accessible and informative read.
Zulu Pottery is issued by Hippo Communications on behalf of Publishing Print Matters. More information from Beryl Eichenberger on 082 490 6652 or 021 556 8200 or Penny Gaines on 082 554 0554.
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