When a community invests in its son, it is often with the hope that he will some day return to plant his own seed and nurture it.
This was Eastern Cape-born ceramicist Andile Dyalvane’s driving force as he returned to his home province to hold a workshop in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
“I am not here to teach people how to make pots but to inspire them to be themselves and fully immerse themselves in their purpose, ” he said before the workshop at Art on Target in Target Kloof.
The world-recognised artist co-hosted the workshop with longtime friend, former classmate and colleague Madoda Fani, another widely recognised ceramicist.
Growing up in Ngobozana village, Lusikisiki, where clay was a plaything and drawing an over-imaginative boy’s distraction in the classroom, Dyalvane said he had never imagined it to be something he would use to make a name for himself and a living out of.
Now, having held exhibitions and residencies and collected accolades in different cities and countries across the world, the artist said one of his goals was to pay it forward by sharing his expertise with his community, and the Port Elizabeth workshop was the first work he had done at home.
“Clay is a tool I use to communicate, express myself, heal and be healed, and my purpose is to share with others what I have had since I was young – and inspire them to be themselves in order to be unique.”
Before he was invited to hold the workshop as part of the GFI Ceramic Art Fair, Dyalvane had planned to bring his masterclass series, Adventures of Clay, to the Eastern Cape after it debuted in Johannesburg.
“I started in Johannesburg because the opportunity presented itself there.
“The next place was PE but I received this invitation from [GFI Gallery] and thought ‘what better way to do it than this?’” he said.
When Dyalvane was selected to represent SA in New York he exhibited his collection of works, titled Camagu, in a solo show, the achievement was the highlight of his career.
But he has since added to that – he was recently feature designer of the year in the 100% Design SA exhibition where he presented his Iindonga collection in 2018.
“The New York solo show was affirmation that I was on the right path and following my purpose, but what goes beyond that is intangible.
“It’s me understanding that in trying to preserve my heritage, I have other guides on the same path and affirming that I should not be ashamed of who I am, of where I come from and what my culture is,” the NMU graduate said.
His works are inspired by heritage, traditions and culture.
Dyalvane is based in Cape Town where he co-founded the Imiso Ceramics Gallery and Design Studio.
An extension of the Iindonga collection is on display at the GFI Art Gallery as part of the Ceramic Art Fair, where he delivered an opening address on Thursday.
“The Iindonga collection is paying homage to my childhood in Ngobozana where we used to play with clay,” he said.
The GFI Ceramic Art Fair runs until May 4.