Ceramics impress at Thapong show
Correspondent | Friday August 12, 2016 14:58
The exhibits include drawing, painting, sculpture, graphic design, video and ceramics. Their expert handling of the materials and the conceptual interpretations, especially in ceramics works, which stand out, are perhaps a strong testimony of art produced in a learning environment.
The group comprises of Thapong Artist of the Year Award (TAYA) 2014 winner, Obed Mokhuhlani, Kutlo Tumedi, Othusitse Ketshabang, Souza Malebo, Unami Maigwa, Selebogo Suping, Danny Moatlhodi, Lettah Mantswe, Gofaone Kebonyekgosi, Ontwetse Gaotsenelelwe, just to mention a few. Francis Bacon, a well known British artist once remarked that; ‘The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery’.
Most of the works on display, from the ordinary child-like moulded ceramic pieces of Moatlhodi to the complex vases of Ketshabang, perhaps fit Bacon’s analogy. But most of the works on the walls, a mixture of abstraction and realism, are far from Bacon’s remarks.
A trained eye can pick a lot of wrongs in their execution from principles such as proportion, conceptuliasation, to the use of materials. It is the display on the plinths that catches the eye, and ‘deepens the mystery’ in some pieces.
Moatlhodi confronts the viewer with the ordinary, reminiscent of the boy’s playground where moulding of domesticated animals was the norm. He prefers a size so particular to the those days by the river bank; detailed miniature ceramic pieces of cows and horses. The only difference to that era is the finishing that uses glaze and firing, which creates a piece better than the ones you know. Moatlhodi goes further in his ceramics work, with vases and other abstracted forms such as the one entitled ‘Arttery’, an abstracted heart form viewed as a three-legged pot. He laces most of his pots with climbing figures and mysterious protruding parts of the human body such as hands. Kebonyekgosi’s bust series, ‘The Singing Jabeb’, ‘Jazz Guru’ and ‘Mosadi’, are a collection of ceramic bust sculptures that capture emotions of three different figures.
In the ‘The Singing Jabeb’ the artist captures the singer’s mood with an open gaping mouth and the pain of singing showing stretched ligaments on the neck. Mokhuhlani shows his execution and attention to detail in woodcuts and lino prints and ceramic sculptures. He won the TAYA through printmaking and his work is a testimony that he masters the area very well. He is, however, let down by his paintings, such as the one entitled ‘Girl Child II’ where he expresses the plight of the girl-child. Conceptually there is very little on the piece except the starring figure in a stylised background. Overall the exhibition is successful and a must-see for art enthusiasts.
TOM KETLOGETSWE