Inzwakazi (Beauty)

Inzwakazi (Beauty) is a smoke-fired terracotta vessel made using the hand coiling technique alongside internal hand pulling that creates unique surface definitions. The form is intuitively shaped, inspired by the natural landscape of the artist's Xhosa heritage whilst the tension and textures of its surface recall a more direct personal influence - that of the township's buzz and energy. The shape simultaneously recalls something of the feminine, with a curving neck, upturned chest and the crooks of exaggerated collar bones. In this way, it is part woman, part land and beloved in the most impenetrable sense of the word.