Exhibition Review: Body Vessel Clay at Two Temple Place

Dr. Jareh Das has curated a fascinating examination of the relationship between black women, ceramics, and contemporary art at Two Temple Place, as Chelsea Bunke explores.

Staging an exhibition in a beautiful building is always a risk; what if the building outshines what has been curated? This was definitely a risk considered when staging Body Vessel Clay: Black Women, Ceramics, and Contemporary Art at Two Temple Place, a stunning neo-gothic mansion located along the Thames river. However, the exhibition, a showcase of the convergence of cultures, outsells its housing structure as soon as visitors step in. 

Copyright: Two Temple Place

Body Vessel Clay: Black Women, Ceramics, and Contemporary Art is an exploration of 70 years of ceramic and clay work by black women across Nigeria and Europe. Not just a showcase of pots, the exhibition displays multimedia works including film, drawings, and even dance. These converge to create a harmonic demonstration of skill, passion, strength, and femininity.

Ladi Kwali MBE (1925 - 1984) was a seminal Nigerian potter whose skills were displayed across the world. She was born into the Gbagyi (Gwari speaking) tribe, located in Northern Nigeria. The Gbagyi people have a matrilineally passed pottery tradition, however Ladi Kwali learned the method from her aunt. She was a natural and excelled at the characteristic coiling technique of the region. She was nationally recognised for her talents; by 1950, the Emir of Abuja, Alhaji Suleiman Barau, had many of her works in his palace. She was seen as a representation of Nigeria’s metamorphosis into an industrialised nation and acted as one of many harbingers of Nigerian self-determination and independence that would come in years to follow.

Ladi Kwali’s emergence onto the scene caught the attention of the British potter Michael Cardew on a visit to Nigeria, and she became the Pottery Training Centre’s first female student in 1954. Her training marked a change in Kwali’s style; she successfully married Gwari shapes with Western high-firing glazing techniques, resulting in a physical manifestation of the complex relationship between the two cultures. However, the new pots, while beautiful, were not functional (unlike traditional Gwari pots) due to their thick walls. To Westerners at the time, Kwali represented an indigenous shift from function to art. Body Vessel Clay explores this perception and questions why functional pieces are not seen as artistic if they require the same level of skill.

Copyright: Two Temple Place

Kwali’s glazed water pots became renowned on the global art scene. She toured Europe and the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. While this was a testament to her generational talent, her validation by the Western Cardew, now a peer, contributed to her tour. The exhibition appreciates their partnership, but aims to separate Kwali from Cardew and showcase her talent without his cosign. 

While Ladi Kwali is not the only figure featured in Body Vessel Clay, her influence permeates into the other artists on display. Magdalene Odundo DBE is a Kenyan-born British studio-potter who trained with Ladi Kwali at the Pottery Training Centre in 1974 and took on many of her techniques. This, in accordance with her inclination towards ancient Greek and Roman styles, have contributed to her unique style of humanoid vessels of clay. 

A piece by Magdalene Odundo DBE

Another featured artist is Bisila Noha, a Spanish and Equatorial Guinean ceramicist known for her pieces with two “legs”. These legs represent the cultural dichotomy present in her diverse background. Upon showcasing her art, she discovered that Ivorian potter Kouame Kahaka had produced similar forms in 1995. This discovery motivated her to start her ongoing research project, Searching for Kouame Kahaka: A celebration of the unnamed women of clay; our shared mothers and grandmothers. Other artists featured include Phoebe Collings-James, Shawanda Corbett, Chinasa Vivian Ezugha, Julia Phillips, and Jade Montserrat. They utilise the medium to explore the relationship between function and dysfunction, malleability and strength, and more complexities. For example, Shawanda Corbett performs with clay to create cyborg-like structures. Her pieces are displayed in a beautiful hall on the upper level of the mansion. 

Pieces by Bisila Noha

When I asked my mother, a Nigerian woman, about Ladi Kwali, she had no idea who I was talking about! Body Vessel Clay aims to bring her back to the forefront of the Nigerian artistic canon. Her legacy is stamped all over the exhibition, demanding to be seen. Body Vessel Clay is an empowering experience that showcases black women reclaiming their heritage via this ever-changing material. Like the matrilineal tradition of the Gwari tribe, clay is the medium that linked these women across generations. I would highly recommend that you visit this exhibition!

Body Vessel Clay - Black Women, Ceramics, and Contemporary Art is on display at Two Temple Place until April 24, 2022 every day except for Tuesdays.