Madoda Fani, South Africa

iZembe (An Axe)

2021

Terracotta

210 × 210 × 740 mm

A creative response to iZembe (An Axe) by Dean Kissick

Their only daughter ran around in a black felt hat with two pointed curled horns. She spoke often of the places in which her selves overlapped, and why this was interesting for her. Her best friend from a young age kept his hands in his pockets. They had never seen him without one of his hands in his pockets. Their daughter and her best friend and all of their friends had grown up with and were well used to magical objects. When the day finally arrives, they will be ready to take flight.

Madoda Fani grew up in the Gugulethu township in Cape Town and discovered his love of clay as a fine art student at Sivuyile College. In 2000, his work was selected for the Salon Internationale de l’Artisanat de Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso where he met ceramicist Simon Masilo, who introduced him to smoke-firing. Mastering this technique under the guidance of Nic Sithole, he continues to fuse traditional techniques with curvaceous, coiled forms that often resemble insect exoskeletons.