This body of work arises from an open-ended question. The making begins with contemplating my lineage, my ancestral knowledge and ultimately my becoming. Through the work, I explore themes of home, identity, land, heritage, and the collective memory of the Baviaanskloof Coloured community. These sculptures and installations build on an earlier body of work, wherein I explore the intersection of the tangible and the intangible memories that bind me to the Baviaanskloof. I explore the absence and silence of the lost and forgotten voices in shaping presence and meaning. I draw from their fragmented histories, memories, and untold stories.
In this body of work, I am the artist yet also archaeologist, I am a community member in search of an answer. Clay, as my predominant medium, is sacred and personal; it plays an important role in capturing memory. It is a transformative material through which I construct complex narratives, embodying both permanence and fragility, much like memory.
Through clay, I engage with the layers of history embedded in the land and its people. I explore a sense of belonging and the spaces held by ancestral bloodlines, excavating cultural ties long forgotten. This work invites viewers to navigate these metaphorical spaces. Like the blood of the Baviaanskloof, clay shapes my sense of being.