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(Un)Earthed
2024

(Un)Earthed

Stellenbosch Museum Voorgelegen, Dorp Street, Stellenbosch Central, Stellenbosch, South Africa

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The term ceramics might evoke for many an association with utilitarian and domestic items such as plates, vases and bowls. In recent years, however, ceramics have increasingly gained recognition as a contender in contemporary art. Indeed, clay, being highly malleable, can be shaped into the forms a potter imagines. This exhibition seeks to display such items of artistic consideration. Being the familiar material that ceramics are, which trace cultural expression around the world, this exhibition further seeks to represent a multiplicity of South African identities. Displayed in these ceramic works are elements of the traditional, socio-political, sombre, satirical, and playful.


Curatorial Statement


(Un)Earthed - Exploring contemporary ceramic art in South Africa

Of all forms of visual art, ceramics are perhaps some of the most ubiquitous. Stretching over millennia and geographic expanses, clay has been exhumed and shaped into culture since the dawn of mankind. Whether it be for artistic and decorative expression, as functional objects, or as artefacts of spiritual practice, ceramic pieces signify identities. These objects, as such, become a nexus between the earth and being human; as much as man has shaped clay, ceramics have shaped the human race. Yet, whilst durable enough to carry buried messages across empires, the substance of fired clay is at once fragile. Handling, transportation, and indeed preservation of ceramic objects require intentional care. The interpretation of ceramic artefacts excavated from the past is often read in ‘cracked code’; many vessels dating from eras past exist only in part, due to their brittle composition. An analogy, perhaps, for history itself? This exhibition seeks to draw out clues about the representation of our collective South African identities, past and present - whether it be through the domestic, the sacred, or symbols of social allegiance.


Okuvunjululweyo - Uphicotho lobugcisa bezinto zodongwe olutshisiweyo bale mihla eMzantsi Afrika

Marijke van Velden

Marijke van Velden

Chief Curator

Marijke Van Velden is a Stellenbosch-based artist, educator, and curator with a deep curiosity for the creative process. She holds degrees in Fine Arts and Illustration (BA, MPhil Cum Laude) from Stellenbosch University and won the Sasol New Signatures award in 2009. Marijke lectures in drawing and design and served as the inaugural curator at Oude Leeskamer from 2022 to 2023. Her art is intuitive and conceptual, with a focus on the physicality of creation. Passionate about social justice, she aims to impact the social landscape through her work.

Pule Dlothi

Pule Dlothi

Assistant Curator

Dlothi is a Fine Arts Honours student at Stellenbosch University and works as a gallery assistant at Oude Leeskamer Gallery while also teaching at P.J. Olivier Art Centre, where he studied sculpture in high school. As a sculptor, his work focuses on African art and the Basotho initiation ceremony, particularly examining the role of women, especially the mother-figure, in shaping the men who enter initiation schools. This is his first assistant curator role, and he is eager to develop his skills and collaborate with artists in this position.

Featured Artists

Githan Coopoo

Githan Coopoo

South Africa

B. 1994

Madoda Fani

Madoda Fani

South Africa

B. 1975

Marlene Steyn

Marlene Steyn

South Africa

B. 1989

Ceramic Matters

Ceramic Matters

South Africa

E. 1997

Marijke Van Velden

Marijke Van Velden

South Africa

B. 1985

Wim Botha

Wim Botha

South Africa

B. 1974

Ben Orkin

Ben Orkin

South Africa

B. 1998

Lucinda Mudge

Lucinda Mudge

South Africa

B. 1979

Featured Artworks

All is well
All is well

2024

Lucinda Mudge

Ceramic, gold luster.

Site 8: Church Street

Brothers in Arms
Brothers in Arms

2024

Ceramic Matters

Earthenware ceramic. Glazed and pit-fired.

Site 4: Black Horse Centre

Eye She Hue
Eye She Hue

2024

Marlene Steyn

Glazed ceramic & mixed media.

Site 3: Dorpstreeg

Home Unmapped
Home Unmapped

2024

Marijke Van Velden

Found ceramic shards

Site 5: Mark Street

Inguqu I (Change)
Inguqu I (Change)

2017

Madoda Fani

Smoke-fired earthenware.

Site 2: Drostdy Street

Keep in Touch
Keep in Touch

2022

Githan Coopoo

Clay and acrylic.

Site 1: R44

Untitled
Untitled

2024

Wim Botha

Ceramic, maize meal, pencil, wood.

Site 6: Ryneveld Street

What Already Happened Changes How Things Happen Again IV
What Already Happened Changes How Things Happen Again IV

2021

Ben Orkin

Clay and glaze.

Site 7: Die Braak

Gallery

Meet the Curatorial Team behind this exhibition supported by the Stellenbosch Triennale which is hosted by the Stellenbosch Outdoor Sculpture Trust.

ST2025 is brought to you by Outset Contemporary Art Fund and many more

SPONSORS + PARTNERS

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Curatorial Team

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