Maati revisited: An ode to clay

Ceramics exhibition concludes at Color Art Gallery.

LAHORE: “Imagine if clay could speak. The secrets it would divulge and the stories it would narrate,” said ceramist Nabahat Lotia on Tuesday.

She was speaking on the final day of Maati Revisited, a solo-exhibition featuring her work, at Color Art Gallery. Lotia said the exhibition was a tribute to clay. She said she had tried to amalgamate several firing techniques in the 50 pieces on display. Lotia said these included low temperature gas-fired terracotta pieces, high temperature wood firings with ash glazes and smoke firing. She said she wanted to show the denizens of the city that ceramics were not limited to bowls. “I am extremely passionate about my work. I can keep on speaking about it. I want to keep on learning about it,” Lotia said. She said she wanted to work on her glazes, shapes, forms and themes. Lotia said the urge to learn and do more had kept her going. “Everything comes from clay and returns to it—this fascinates me,” she said.

Lotia said the ceramics bug did not bite her very early in life. She said her father had wanted her to study at Kinnaird College but she was adamant on pursuing graphic design that was then known as commercial design. Lotia said she was eventually allowed to study at the National College of Arts (NCA) after completing her intermediate but had left the varsity after getting married and relocating to Karachi.

She said her interest in ceramics was rekindled when she moved back to the city in 1990 for three years. “I used to frequent Qainchi- It used to resemble a pottery village,” Lotia said. She said she used to go there daily to observe potters at work and learn the art from an ustad. Lotia said she had asked him to alter the shape of the pots he used to create as they were always the same. She said this was unprecedented. Lotia said she had had the various pots displayed at an exhibition. She said the trend had caught on after the show.

Lotia said she had enrolled at an intensive three-year ceramics course at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in 2007 after the family had relocated to Karachi and her children had grown up. “It was extremely arduous to learn at that age,” she reminisced. Lotia said she had done a number of solo shows after graduating. She said she had also learnt a great deal in Canada, where her family had relocated to for a few years. Lotia said this included different techniques such as Raku that were unheard of in Pakistan.  Color Art Gallery curator Zarah David said Lotia was devoted to her work. “Her dialogue with clay and the various techniques she uses are wonderful to look at,” she said. David said Lotia was extremely generous with her time and knowledge.  She said she was a fan of her work especially her stoneware couples and objects made using Raku. 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2015.