A little pressure, a slight nudge and the rotating wheel gives you the control to shape and mould the clay as you desire. It does take practice to master the art, but no matter what form the clay takes, it holds potential to translate keenly felt thoughts, that words sometimes fail to convey.
Expressing themselves through visually captivating ceramic pieces are six women artists at the exhibition, titled 'Unearthed', that's currently underway at the Museum of Goa (MOG), Pilerne, in North Goa.
“'Unearthed' is not just for women,” says Ragini Deshpande, one of the six artists showcasing her works at the exhibit.
She explains that whether it’s unearthing personal emotions, memories or clay itself, in some way, it all connects to history, relating us to a past and bringing back what civilisations have experienced.
Her work at the exhibition, 'Verses of the heart', is conceptualised with both, ceramic clay work as well as thread work and crochet, which she hopes sings to all those who view it.
“It’s to do with impermanence of emotions, relationships and life itself,” she reflects.
Having spent the last couple of months working on her sculptures, Tanushree Singh, passionately describes her work at the exhibit saying, “It’s a very personal body of work, which explores the subject of memory and how it affects not just our notions and feelings, but remains within our physical body, triggering responses within it and reactions to the environment.”
Working with ceramics for the last five years and noticing the similarities between clay and the human body, she felt it was the perfect medium to explore the subject.
“Both are fragile and vulnerable, yet so resilient, so I’ve kind of explored this dichotomy,” shares Tanushree, who also has her photographs on display.
She may have never expected her very first exhibition being completely women led, but humbled by the opportunity, she says, “It’s very exciting to be part of this group. All our works are very unique, so I’m actually just inspired and amazed by all of them.”
And while Tanushree is looking forward to what people visiting the exhibition have to say, founder of Mudskippers Studio, Nimmi Joshi, wants to express something that’s affecting her severely.
“My installation 'Ice-Age X' talks about a dystopian future, where despite having technology and other accessible things, we are kind of disconnected with our own selves and others like us,” she explains, saddened by the ecological destruction in Goa in recent years.
Another visual artist sourcing inspiration from nature is Avani Tanya, whose work at the exhibit is titled 'To the Shores'.
“My artwork is a set of paintings and ceramic clay. They are sort of an ode to the rivered landscapes and sediments that get left behind after something has flowed over it. So, they are like imaginary landscapes,” she describes.
Avani loves ceramics, which she not only finds meditative, but a work of hand where every touch kind of gets imprinted on. And like her, Khushboo Madani believes there's a huge teacher in clay, teaching you patience and mindfulness.
"When you work at the wheel, its meditative, if you aren't present, your work won't happen. That way, it lets you be in the moment, completely forgetting about everything else," she says.
Khushboo has been working with clay for the past 18 years. At the exhibition, she has presented three series of works; expressing the need to unearth suppressed emotions just like a seed and accept everything life throws your way with positivity and grace.
On the other hand, there's a tale of transformation (a human to a hybrid, half-human, half-tree) behind the pieces curated by Aditi Kashyap at the exhibition.
"Here's one piece cracking from the bust showing the transformation process, that often looks wild, destructive and messy," she points out.
Aditi is an artist, who has worked with several mediums. Her collection involves combining forms of body, earth and trees, that resemble archaeological artifacts which create an alternate history, letting her speak of a time, where all lived in harmony with the earth, very naturally.
"I find working with clay very spiritual and poetic, where you're directly connected with the earth. There’s a magic that the earth holds that I believe transmits into my pieces as well, and I find that beautiful," Aditi says.
She reveals clay is very forgiving (able to redo) in nature, but admits to often incorporating the cracks and blemishes into her pieces, rather than trying to fix or reverse it.
"A lot of my pieces keep and hold any mistakes of the process in the same way archaeological objects hold time."
Making any form of art is a constant practice of self-discovery, to understand who you really are.
And while at it, apart from a chance to check out this exhibition, that's open until March 31, 2024, there are workshops (on March 23 and 31) letting you explore the world of ceramics yourself.
