JABULILE NALA

Hailing from one of the foremost families of Zulu ceramics, Jabulile Nala bears the memory of a line of female clay-workers that can be traced back to 1900. Born in Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal, and rooted in the ceramic traditions of her mother, Nesta, and her grandmother, Simphiwe, Nala creates sculptural forms which spiral wildly from their origin point in the Zulu clay heritage, at once incorporating and defying traditions. Each work is a distinctive body, perhaps capped with a short protruding neck, or raised amasumpa, or banded design work. Nala digs for red and grey clays from two sites near her home. Her whole-body approach to nurturing her clay from harvest to fabulation is a profound contribution to the lineage of clay and the obscured archives of the women who came before her. Jabulile Nala has participated in numerous exhibitions in South Africa and abroad and her work is represented in both national and international private and public collections.

(bio courtesy of Art Formes Gallery)