(Work
by Jabu Nala)
The African Art Centre will present A Women’s Touch pottery exhibition in
commemoration with national women’s month. This exhibition celebrates five extraordinary
women in art, showcasing hand-crafted ceramic pottery; Jabu Nala, Bongi
Nala-Mahlaba, Witty Nyide, Busisiwe Ntuli and Phumzile Mahlaba.
In 2016, the African Centre presented its
first edition of A Women’s Touch
providing an insight into what historically was part of a Zulu woman’s livelihood.
Made from clay and fired in a kiln, these vessels originated as beer pots
utilised for drinking, serving, transporting and brewing sorghum–based beer. The
hand-coiled beer pots were not only highly valued by Zulu people but were part
of important community ceremonies.
Continuing the renowned Nala tradition,
Jabu and Bongi Nala will present their ceramic ware with natural red and grey
clay dug from Oyaya grounds near their home in Eshowe. Over the years, Jabu has
pushed boundaries of the ceramic tradition by not only merely decorating her
pots with incised patterns and ‘amasumpa’ but also explored various forms and
textures on her work. Her special ceramic vessel shapes have featured
protruding cylindrical multiple openings, hollow circular openings on pots,
flat necked ‘uphiso’ pots and cylindrical vase shapes. Her mastery of ceramic
pottery making has been acknowledged locally and internationally by art
galleries, private and public collectors. Jabu has recently returned from the
successful annual Santa Fe International Folk Art Market in USA, where she has
participated every year since 2010.
Bongi Nala began producing pots to sell in
her community for domestic purposes. Since she lost her husband, ceramic-making
became her only source of income which was used to raise her children. Now Bongi
not only sells her work in her community but also to tourists visiting the Nala
home in Eshowe and at the African Art Centre. Bongi values the ceramic
tradition and believes it must be sustained. She has trained her eldest
daughter, Phumzile, in pottery-making skills and both mother and daughter often
travel together to sell their work. Bongi and Phumzile enjoy making the
traditional ‘izinkamba’ shapes in various sizes. They have also both begun
exploring unique stylised vase and calabash shaped pots, some with rough
textured surfaces. The exhibition will also feature a selection of pots made by
Phumzile.
Mabusi (Busisiwe) Ntuli hails from the
KwaMaphumulo area in KwaZulu-Natal. She is currently studying towards a degree
in Jewellery Design at the Durban University of Technology. Mabusi is thrilled
to be sharing a platform with the renowned Nala family who she has always
looked up to. It was only when she enrolled at the BAT Centre Visual Art
Classes that she had an opportunity to learn ceramic pottery-making skills,
taught by Clive Sithole. In her own words, she states that “My work is greatly
inspired by the Nala Family and by Clive Sithole”. Her ceramic vessels are modelled
in terracotta, earthenware and white clay and fired in a kiln. Her work
displays a creative combination of traditional and modern ceramic-making
methods. Her pots are moulded into unique ‘ukhamba’ beer pot shapes, sometimes
embellished in pierced patterns, further smoke-fired or glazed.
This year, whilst still keeping the pots as
a focal point of the exhibition, the Centre has invited a young woman who has
taken this traditional art-from and re-conceptualised it into a contemporary
exposition. Witty Nyide works within mainly the scope of art education, in both
formal and informal contexts, including museum environments. Most recently, she
has taught the visual art component of the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s
Bachelor of Education programme and the painting module at the UKZN’s Centre
for Visual Art. Her research, education and community work extends to jobs with
the Durban Art Gallery and Caversham Centre for Artists and Writers. In 2007
and 2008, Witty taught Drawing and Painting at the African Art Centre’s
Velobala Fine art classes, which is also where she started her own art
development when she joined the class in 2003. Witty presented papers at
conferences such as the South African Visual Arts Historians Conference 2016
and Art and Social Justice Conference 2010 and exhibited at galleries both
locally and internationally.
A
Women’s Touch will open on August 17 2017 at 17h30
for 18h00 and runs until September 16 2017. The African Art Centre is at 94
Florida Road, Morningside. More information on 031 303 4634 or email africanartcentre@afri-art.co.za
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