FROM DUST TO DISH RISTO IITA Have you ever imagined the potential of the soil around us? Risto Iita has. Looking at common materials in a different way, the University of Namibia Visual Arts graduate has collected soil samples from all over Namibia to see what pottery and ceramics can be made from our soil.
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isto was inspired by his teacher, UNAM lecturer Frauke Stegmann, who shares some fascinating traditional ceramic history: “There is a 2000-year-old tradition of making clay pots in Africa, a practice that unifies Africa. We teach this African identity in the ceramics course. This is true in Namibia, where the practice has been in existence in the north for 2000 years. There is a tiny Khoisan pot that was made using pottery methods from East Africa that dates that far back. It was used for ritual purposes and not utilitarian purposes.”
“An amazing thing about soil from the north is that it’s very light sensitive, and it needs to be stored in total darkness while you are making it. When I interviewed women up north, they said that the soil does not need light because it’s alive. It is very sensitive. So I thought, ‘Wow, I’d like to see for myself.’ And they were right.” Now that he’s successfully tested the soil, Risto has a dream. “Imagine if one day I can supply UNAM with clay? The clay they currently buy is from South Africa, and it’s a refined clay, so it would be smart to produce our own clay here. Our soil is good for clay and the colours are amazing.”
“In ceramics, you often only think about the utilitarian aspect: bowls, things you use in the kitchen, for example. Our Ceramics Studies graduates developed very conceptual and more installation-based items, which is very interesting.” In an exhibition for the 2016 UNAM Visual Arts graduates, Risto demonstrated his thought process and his plan for the future. “For me, art is in me – it’s my life. For my project, I was interested in soils because I was reading a book by Paul van Schalkwyk, the Namibian photographer who took aerial shots of the dunes meeting the ocean, the rivers meeting the sea, Etosha and other beautiful parts of Namibia. The colours were amazing. Earth, where we live, is the best place in the solar system and it’s where we belong. Then I thought about taking Namibian soil and trying to use it to make clay. “I collected soil from the Omusati Region around the Otapi area, the Okahao area, then Oshakati and also five kilometres outside Oshakati, from an village where almost every house has women making clay pots. I even collected soil from Gobabis, and I got some from a riverbed and from termite heaps.” Risto took his soil samples and made them into clay, which he then made into various ceramic items, some with varnish and some without, to test what would happen. The results are amazing, and were on display at the graduate exhibition, which was held at the National Art Gallery of Namibia.
“Imagine if one day I can supply UNAM with clay? The clay they currently buy is from South Africa, and it’s a refined clay, so it would be smart to produce our own clay here. Our soil is good for clay and the colours are amazing.” 113