The work of the Nalas is rooted in an ancient and revered ceramic process. Nesta’s method of hand built, pit-fired and burnished vessels is equal parts considered and disciplined, onerous and ornate. To begin, she would gather two types of clay (red and grey), typically hand-dug from the areas around her home.
Armstrong was an artist who aimed to continually puzzle out, provoke and play with the form and definition of clay. Her works range from cow hides, breasts and ceremonial protective aprons to the more traditionally utilitarian objects like vases, plates and bowls, but always with an interest in embracing the imperfections of the medium.
The potter-god and the creation of breathing clay is a story repeated in many tongues, many times over. The Abrahamic God, the Yoruba spirit, Obatala, the Greek Prometheus, the Egyptian deity, Khnum, and on and on were all the first potters of the human body, adding breath and blood and water to the clay.
Humans have been mining and making things with clay for more than 30 thousand years. Long before formal agriculture, it seems that the worldwide use of clay — for pots, buildings, sculptures, ritual practices, pigments, medicine — is one of the most ancient human things.
