Pots and vessels: ‘We all come from clay’
Sheherezade Alam talks about her upcoming exhibition Matti ki Khushboo.
LAHORE:
Nothing compares to matti ki khushbu (the earthenware scent) when you drink cold water from a newly dried clay pot, ceramist Sheherezade Alam says. “This is when the material comes alive and with it, its legacy.”
Alam spoke to journalists on Monday, ahead of her upcoming show, Matti Ki Khushboo, which opens for the public from Wednesday. The exhibition will continue till December 17.
Dressed in red and black, Alam sat in a corner sipping a cup of green tea and enjoying her favourite junk food, french fries and mayo. She spoke of the subject she enjoys most, clay.
She recalled that she had been the only student studying ceramics at the National College of Arts. That is where it all began, she says. “I knew it was challenging but I wanted to be a person who said yes.”
Alam says her parents and grandparents did not want her to have her hands in matti all day.
“But it was such a beautiful relationship and I loved what I did... My devotion and my passion for clay kept my family quiet.”
She says her exhibition will feature her work which she describes as a continuity of Harappa pottery. “I love working with clay. I was aware of that even in my early years at NCA... my concern for the dying legacy of clay was one of the reasons I wanted to work in the ceramics department.”
Alam says she was sad that people had stopped appreciating clay and had moved on to using steel and plastic utensils.
She is of the view that clay matkas, gharas and surahis made a house attractive. As an aficionado of ancient civilisations and their legacies, Alam has always been attracted to museums. The pottery section was her favourite.
Alam draws inspiration for her work from pottery from ancient Japan, China, Scandinavia, Greece etc.
“An integral part of my understanding of ancient pottery was how the artists’ hands had made something so beautiful out of a ball of clay. I was doing the same thing in another time and place.”
Alam says her work is traditional. “I don’t disfigure my pieces. People sometimes express emotions and anger by disfiguring pots... I express my emotions through simple lines.”
She says, “Clay surrenders to your strength, but you have to surrender back.” The process of making pots, she says, is like yoga.
“Clay teaches you. It teaches you to take the blows with joys. You need to be attentive. If you do a little and leave it, the clay will abandon you.”
Alam has displayed 99 of her pieces at Nairang Gallery. They include pieces she has displayed at various exhibitions including Pilgrimage with Porcelain and Laali.
She says Laali was one of her most memorable shows. It was held in memory of her daughter Jehanara.
Pointing at the red pots on display, Alam said, her daughter identified with that colour. Alam said that she wore that colour in her daughter’s memory for seven years.
“I have a friendship with my work. The force in me comes from the pots themselves... after all we are all from clay.”
Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2014.
Nothing compares to matti ki khushbu (the earthenware scent) when you drink cold water from a newly dried clay pot, ceramist Sheherezade Alam says. “This is when the material comes alive and with it, its legacy.”
Alam spoke to journalists on Monday, ahead of her upcoming show, Matti Ki Khushboo, which opens for the public from Wednesday. The exhibition will continue till December 17.
Dressed in red and black, Alam sat in a corner sipping a cup of green tea and enjoying her favourite junk food, french fries and mayo. She spoke of the subject she enjoys most, clay.
She recalled that she had been the only student studying ceramics at the National College of Arts. That is where it all began, she says. “I knew it was challenging but I wanted to be a person who said yes.”
Alam says her parents and grandparents did not want her to have her hands in matti all day.
“But it was such a beautiful relationship and I loved what I did... My devotion and my passion for clay kept my family quiet.”
She says her exhibition will feature her work which she describes as a continuity of Harappa pottery. “I love working with clay. I was aware of that even in my early years at NCA... my concern for the dying legacy of clay was one of the reasons I wanted to work in the ceramics department.”
Alam says she was sad that people had stopped appreciating clay and had moved on to using steel and plastic utensils.
She is of the view that clay matkas, gharas and surahis made a house attractive. As an aficionado of ancient civilisations and their legacies, Alam has always been attracted to museums. The pottery section was her favourite.
Alam draws inspiration for her work from pottery from ancient Japan, China, Scandinavia, Greece etc.
“An integral part of my understanding of ancient pottery was how the artists’ hands had made something so beautiful out of a ball of clay. I was doing the same thing in another time and place.”
Alam says her work is traditional. “I don’t disfigure my pieces. People sometimes express emotions and anger by disfiguring pots... I express my emotions through simple lines.”
She says, “Clay surrenders to your strength, but you have to surrender back.” The process of making pots, she says, is like yoga.
“Clay teaches you. It teaches you to take the blows with joys. You need to be attentive. If you do a little and leave it, the clay will abandon you.”
Alam has displayed 99 of her pieces at Nairang Gallery. They include pieces she has displayed at various exhibitions including Pilgrimage with Porcelain and Laali.
She says Laali was one of her most memorable shows. It was held in memory of her daughter Jehanara.
Pointing at the red pots on display, Alam said, her daughter identified with that colour. Alam said that she wore that colour in her daughter’s memory for seven years.
“I have a friendship with my work. The force in me comes from the pots themselves... after all we are all from clay.”
Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2014.