Rirhandzu Makhubele

Rirhandzu Makhubele's work deals with matters that she experience subconsciously and spontaneously. She relive her upbringing memories, trying to understand how one occurrence relates to the next, leading to the person she is today. She investigate how every decision she has made was pre-ordained and how I’m obliged to become the person she is in terms of culture, religion, and politics. Hence, she base her work on how her past, culture, religion, and politics affect her spirituality.

Rirhandzu makes her sculptures using the ceramic process. She use clay because of its relationship with the soil and nature. Biblically, humankind is made from clay. Her Ceramics become living pieces when using clay, as each portrait is different from the next. The works’ individualism resembles emotional and spiritual experiences in everyday life. The portraits are extremely large and invite the viewer to experience what she felt as an artist and what she depict in the works. Rirhandzu use charcoal clay that becomes black when fired. She is very interested in the transition from clay form to solid form, which is why she chose ceramics as her art-making medium.