The Clay Films project aims to celebrate and increase the profile of Global Majority artists that are working with film and clay as a primary material, and to reflect the richness of clay as a medium of artistic expression in film. “We are interested in how artists are using film for storytelling, activism, provocation and exploration of identity”, explains Clare Wood, Artistic Director & Chief Executive of the British Ceramics Biennial. “We are seeking films which are intended to be artistic work, rather than filmed documentation or interpretation of other clay and ceramic artwork.”

Following an open submission opportunity for Global Majority artists of African and Caribbean heritage based anywhere in the world, six artists were selected from over 200 entries by a panel of film experts, artists and curators.

“Clay Films is an important addition to this year’s British Ceramics Biennial”, continues Wood. “This new programme provides a platform for more international artists within BCB, while also giving a much-needed platform to an area of ceramics practice that has had little exposure until now. I hope the programme will encourage other artists to consider the creative potential of working in film and clay. For the Biennial audiences, it is an opportunity to inspire some new enthusiasts for artists films and expand our visitors’ perspectives about the many ways artists work with clay.”

WATCH iThongo, the film, at this link

About iThongo

iThongo (meaning 'ancestral dreamscape') by Andile Dyalvane premiered at Southern Guild Cape Town in December 2020, followed by at Friedman Benda in New York in April 2021. An extensive collection of sculptural ceramic seating, this body of work marked Dyalvane’s fourth solo exhibition. In homage to his ancestors, the work was first presented in Dyalvane’s rural homestead in Ngobozana, Eastern Cape (South Africa), where his family and extended community had the opportunity to experience it before it was shown in the galleries.

Comprising 24 sculptural stools, chairs and benches, the artworks were exhibited in the custom of Xhosa ceremonial gatherings: a circular arrangement around a fire hearth where herbal offerings are made. The intricate form of each is based on a single pictogram or glyph from a series of close to 200 symbols that Dyalvane has designed to denote important words in Xhosa life and which also relate to the natural world and more universal human themes and concepts.

About BCB

Initiated in 2009, BCB has grown to be the single largest contemporary ceramics events in the UK. This arts organisation hopes to develop, sustain and expand innovative ceramics practices, and improve lives together with artists and creative communities.

Full list of selected films:

• Majid Asadi (Iran) for Brother’s Horn
• Gibrán Furlán (Mexico) for Hearth
• Ilias Khlifat (Morocco) for Liquid
• Valentina Alvarado Matos (Spain) for Throw the Ground
• Tomisin Sarumi (USA) for Departing
• Marius van Rensburg, in collaboration with Southern Guild Gallery (South Africa), for iThongo featuring Andile Dyalvane