Main Areas Of Performance and Research

My main area of performance is the research I have done into the use of bone china as a sculpture medium. I have had work on three major exhibitions in the last three years. The last piece I made for the Kimberly exhibition was constructed out of 600 pieces of bone china, joined with stainless steel wire and crimps to form a life size Nguni skin. This hangs from the ceiling and should be displayed in front of a window to render it translucent.

The research I have done feeds directly into the post-graduate program. This includes the work I have done using ‘paper clay’. I currently have two Honours students and one MAFA student working in the medium. I have developed a method of deflocculating the porcelain in order to cut down the percentage of water in the body.

This has considerably cut the cost of making bone china. I am confident that I have developed a ceramic body which only uses 25% water, and can be cast and manipulated in a manner that is unprecedented in this country. The final fired body is exceptionally white, hard and translucent.

Although it looks fragile it is in fact relatively robust. I encourage the post-graduate students to experiment with their clay bodies and this is assisted by my experiments into the medium. These students have developed their individual methods and techniques which is a direct result of my experiments.

My work has been collected by major Art Galleries in this country and I have recently sold a piece to a corporate in Sydney.

I have submitted my research on rural Zulu ceramics and have been given a NRF rating of C2 for five years. I have written papers on Zulu ceramics and hope to have publications published by 2005.

No publications as yet have been SAPSE accredited although I have given a number of papers on the subject at national conferences and have written articles for catalogues and books.

I have been granted four year funding from the NRF to document Zulu potters working in KwaZulu-Natal. I have been able to send potters to Korea and New Orleans for workshops and to sell their work. I have potential funding to take an exhibition of Zulu ceramics to Korea in 2005/6 for an exhibition at Hongik University. I intend to take potters over and to give lectures on the history and use of the different vessels. However this is still in the pipeline.