Ceramic artist Zizipho Poswa on her latest clay creations and ambitions for the future.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HAYDEN PHIPPS AND SOUTHERN GUILD
Zizipho Poswa (@zizipo_poswa) made waves at the 2022 Design Miami/, the city’s preeminent design fair hosted adjacent to Art Basel Miami Beach. Her heritage, as a South African Xhosa woman, is central to her large-scale ceramic and bronze works that function as giant urns or rotund totems, each with a unique character furthered by the effects of the firing process. Influenced by hair-braiding techniques, family stories, traditions and culture, Poswa’s clay sculptures are finding their way into international museums and private collections. We speak to Zizipho about her clay creations and impressions of Miami.
Zizipho Poswa, “Tsitsi (Mercy) Mushamba, Zimbabwe,” 2022 PHOTO COURTESY OF HAYDEN PHIPPS AND SOUTHERN GUILD
To what degree is your work defined by ideas, and how much is left to chance?
My works are driven by my personal narrative of being a proud Xhosa woman. Each of my pieces are steeped in my heritage, my connection to my community and ancestors, and my desire to preserve African tradition. There is a balance of planning and intuition that guides the crafting of each form.
Zizipho Poswa, “Nkechi Obodo, Nigeria,” 2022 PHOTO COURTESY OF HAYDEN PHIPPS AND SOUTHERN GUILD
The element of chance comes through the physical act of making. This new body of work provided so many lessons in ‘chance’ thanks to the unpredictability that comes with working with clay, especially at such an ambitious scale. There were pieces that did not make it out of the kiln, and there is true surrender in trusting that what does not survive the kiln is not meant to be.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HAYDEN PHIPPS AND SOUTHERN GUILD
2022 was your fourth consecutive year showing at Design Miami/. How did this past year’s Miami experience resonate for you?
Each time I exhibit with my South African gallery Southern Guild at Design Miami/, I feel proud to represent my country and am in awe of how my works are able to take on lives of their own. Contributing pieces to Southern Guild’s winning booth in 2021 was a particular highlight. It feels like my own career has echoed a similar trajectory to the gallery itself—each year we are more ambitious in scale and scope. Generally, to be in Miami and to have the privilege of coming into contact with such a multicultural crowd of makers and collectors is a dream. The richness of diversity and form is inspiring.
Zizipho Poswa, “Tsitsi (Mercy) Mushamba, Zimbabwe,” detail, 2022 PHOTO COURTESY OF HAYDEN PHIPPS AND SOUTHERN GUILD
Your sculptures are created in your Cape Town studio and often shown internationally. Do varying contexts change the work’s reception?
My work is primarily informed by my own cultural identity and desired intentions. There have been moments when a conversation between the sculptures and their context feels necessary. For example, when fellow ceramic artist Andile Dyalvane and I participated in the 2021 Indian Ocean Craft Triennial in Perth [Australia], we were intentional in finding narrative links with other participating artisans and the Indigenous community leaders there.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HAYDEN PHIPPS AND SOUTHERN GUILD
Your recent solo exhibition at Southern Guild gallery in Cape Town included photography alongside ceramics. Will you continue to experiment with other media?
Yes, I’m looking at exciting possibilities including exploring bronze as a material and collaborating with another artist that will result in some interesting crossovers in production processes. We’ll see what else… my love for texture, color and pattern is still a driving force, and who knows where else that will take me?
Photography by: Photo Courtesy: Hayden Phipps and Southern Guild
