Clive Sithole at the BAT Centre
by Elizabeth Perrill
With 'Iqhaza', Clive Sithole's first solo exhibition at Durban's BAT Centre, there are no doubts left as to the value and demand for upmarket ceramic arts in the South African art world. The question is, 'Can KZN hold on to its adopted son?' Only one week into this short exhibition all but five of the pieces had been whisked away to a sold-out show at the Gallery on the Square in Sandton. The fact that all of the works could not stay for the allotted period of the exhibition is a loss for the local viewer eager to see this excellent potter's work. However, it is promising to see that ceramic arts are taking their rightful place in the national and inter-national art market.
Sithole has dedicated this most recent show to the late Nesta Nala (1940 - 2005), a figure who will be greatly missed in the KwaZulu-Natal and South African art circles. The label copy of the show and sketches shown in an accompanying case bear visual witness to Sithole's regard for Nala's legacy and the inspiration he has, quite literally, drawn from this great woman's work. Sithole frequently taps into the history of Zulu ceramic arts for inspiration. Postcards of Nala's shows and Sithole's preparatory sketches were displayed side by side to bring home the visual affinities between their works.
Using the theme of izimpondo, the horns of cattle, as a visual trope, Sithole has created a unified theme with his most recent series. Although not all the show's works were on view at the time of this review, a thematic strength seems to have united this exhibition with more metaphorical force than any individual piece could have conveyed. The etched lines and sculpted forms of cattle and solitary horns bring to mind both visual references to Zulu headrests (as mentioned in the show's label copy) and allusions to the less physically bound concept of cattle as a grounding and spiritually loaded metaphor throughout southern and eastern African cultures.
The delicacy of the etching and tracery forms on the bodies of several pieces was one of the most commendable aspects of Sithole's technical performance. In particular, the subtle black-on-black play of cattle across the surface of the work CT7101 drew the viewer around the work to better view the interplay between the body and uphondo style lid. A few formal imbalances in individual pieces still on view at the BAT Centre did give pause to a potter's eye. The profile of some of the main bodies faltered in their graceful swell from time to time, detracting from the overall impression of smooth and masterful surface treatment.
Overall, the majority of Sithole's profiles strike the viewer with a sense of consistency and continuity with tradition along with a punch of individual flare. The lidded forms in the show seem particularly striking and have taken on a more balanced relationship to his swelling Ukhamba-like bodies than some lidded pieces produced in previous years. The Durban art world will look forward to future solo exhibitions and formal risk-taking from Sithole - let's just hope they will be in the city long enough to see them.
Opened: September 7
Closed: September 12
The Bat Centre
45 Maritime Place, Small Craft Harbour, Victoria Embankment, Durban
Tel: (031) 332 0451
Email: events@batcentre.co.za
Elizabeth Perrill is a PhD candidate from Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. She is presently conducting dissertation research on ceramics and
urbanization in KwaZulu-Natal
