A ‘One-Night Stand’ with Amogelang Maepa

I could not resist this title. Even the manner in which I stumbled across Amogelang Maepa’s latest show felt like a one-night stand. I spent the evening intimately engaging with her latest body of work on show at Berman Contemporary at the V&A Waterfront’s Silo District. The exhibition opened on Thursday, April 16.

I was running late, on my way to Southern Guild for its amazing The Poets Are Working group exhibition, when along the way I stopped dead in my tracks to marvel at a scrolling LED sign mounted on a white cube wall. The text read: One-Night Stands In White Mustangs.

I was intrigued and entered the gallery to the debris of a post-exhibition opening. Clearly, I had missed the party. The guests had left but the work remained. The gallery manager, Jean-Marié Olivier, was packing and about to close shop but noticed my curiosity and gladly walked me through the show.

Beyond the LED sign, the exhibition is a physical, sculptural presentation of work. On the floor, on plinths and on walls are strange clay renditions, mirrors and signs. I use the word “strange” because I have not seen clay used so freely and without form, yet strikingly beautiful. Beautifuller, even.

Maepa, the artist, removes the obligation of use; she frees clay from its historical associations with functionality and the potter’s relentless pursuit of perfection. Here, I am semi-paraphrasing the words of Rust-en-Vrede Gallery + Clay Museum curator, Donovan Mynhardt.

“Maepa is a distinct and necessary voice precisely because she turns inward. She excavates the emotional, psychosocial and rhythmic systems that structure interior experience, and she does so through a methodology that is entirely her own; language as foundation, clay as its consequence,” writes Mynhardt.

Put simply, Maepa pushes clay beyond utility and toward conceptuality. This is further facilitated by some rather semi-salacious poetry, with so many sexual innuendos and body references. There is something porn-attractive about the show, yet with zero porn. One derives a thrill. One experiences the artist’s romances, heartbreaks and the freedom to leave without being held responsible.

Perhaps let me go back to the beginning. Amogelang Maepa. The artist. Grew up in Mabopane, Pretoria. Attended Hoërskool Langenhoven. Completed a diploma in Fine Art at Tshwane University of Technology in 2016. Majored in printmaking and ceramics.

“My latest body of work is about desire, control, repetition, fatigue and eventually letting go,” said Maepa, addressing my long list of questions.

“In simple terms, it looks at one-time experiences that don’t last but leave something behind. Even if something only happens once, it can stay with you for a long time. There is also a sense of nostalgia in the title. The ‘white Mustang’ represents something luxurious and romanticised. It speaks to longing for the past, even when you know it was temporary. At its core, it’s about leaving without a note … and the residue that stays.”

Maepa’s process begins with words. She starts by unpacking emotions and experiences, almost like untangling a thread. Once she understands what she wants the sculptures to say, she begins working the clay into whatever form can best convey her feelings. Everything is handmade. No machines; just clay and tools. The process is slow and physically demanding. She builds the sculptures by layering multiple clay slabs, creating movement in the forms so that they feel as if they are breathing.

Sin or no sin and There’s still a form of violence taking place here are two pieces very close to the artist on show at the exhibition.

“When I was making them, I was terrified of losing them in the kiln during the firing process but fortunately they survived,” she added.

Something about the surface of the two artworks, in fact I would go on to say all her work on show, feels soft and worn. Almost like the clay is being eaten away by something. How one achieves that with clay I do not know. But Maepa does.

Look, the entire body of work is undeniably fuelled by a provocative racy sexual energy. Yet, it is heavy. Its true weight carries profound social commentary. It demands deeper engagement and I am happy to see a young black South African artist freely exploring conceptual art and not being limited to literal self-representation forms that speak to only their identity. Progress, this. I like.

Amogelang Maepa’s One-Night Stand in White Mustangs is on show at Berman Contemporary at the V&A Waterfront until May 3.