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| "Trying to Understand": junk paper collage |
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Xanthe Somers Weaves Themes of Labor and Visibility in Bold Ceramic Vessels
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| “The Weary Weaver” (2024), glazed stoneware, 39.4 x 28.4 x 28.4 incjes. |
“Clay is an incredible medium to hold narrative,” says Xanthe Somers, who turns to the medium as a way to explore themes around domesticity, craft, and so-called “women’s work” like cleaning, mending, working with textiles, and caregiving. When it comes to clay, she says, “I think mostly I am invigorated by its ability to hold—to hold water, to hold function, to give shape, to carry stories, and to carry meaning.”
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| Xanthe Summers in her studio |
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| “Common Threads” (2025), glazed stoneware, 23.6 x 21.7 x 21.7 inches |
Currently based in London, Somers grew up in Zimbabwe, where she observed inequities within the social structure that mirror many places around the world, especially in terms of gendered labor within the domestic sphere that often goes largely unseen and unacknowledged.
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| Installation view at Southern Guild, Cape Town. |
Somers taps into ceramics, especially the archetypal vessel motif, to join the ever-evolving continuum of the medium. Throughout millennia and across myriad distinct cultures, the earthen material has found endless applications in the home, industry, and art.
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| “Woven Tales Stand Tall” (2022). Photo by Deniz Guzel |
“Clay has the unique ability to cross the boundaries between functionality, art, craft, class, and culture, and because of this, it is a vital medium to hold stories about humankind,” she says. “I understand clay to be an archive for the stories of humans.”
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| Detail of “Woven Tales Stand Tall.” Photo by Deniz Guzel |
The vessels often take on figurative proportions, standing tall on plinths and exhibiting saturated hues, bold patterns, and tactile textures. Some of the pieces crumple, especially toward the top, as if hit with something or caving under some invisible weight.
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| “By the Pricking of My Thumbs” (2025), glazed stoneware, 39.4 x 27.6 x 27.8 inches. |
Weaving can be used as a wider metaphor for social cohesion—or lack thereof. This predicament is significant in Zimbabwe but is apparent the world over, where women’s work is undervalued.
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| “Of Woof and Woe” (2024), glazed stoneware, 43.3 x 25.3 x 25.3 inches. |
Next year, Somers embarks on a trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, for a residency at Ceramica Suro, where she will learn from local ceramic artists, glassblowers, and weavers. And this October, you’ll be able to see her work at London’s 1-54, a fair dedicated to contemporary African art, which runs from October 16 to 19. Explore more on the artist’s website and Instagram
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| Ocellated tapaculo |
Sunday's Smiles ...
4 comments:
Jacki - I've inadvertently deleted your blog from my e-mail. Please restore. Mitzi Winks zipcip@yahoo.com
Gladly. ;o)
Trying to understand .... what a good collage and title. I think the older I get the more I try to understand .... and so often there is no answer.
Jacki, thanks for your kind answer to my yesterday's comment and for all you answers. I always read them.
Have a fine Sunday.
Thank you, Elenor. Yes, answers don't always come when we seek them, but later when we will understand better? Please take good care.
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