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From the pinch of a nose to the elongated slant of a neck, Magdalene Odundo’s ceramics are on the verge of coming to life. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art described her objects as seeming “simultaneously familiar and novel”. Born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1950, she trained in Farnham, Surrey (where she now lives), then at the Royal College of Art. Her approach grew from a formative period when she returned to Africa to learn about local ceramic practice. Magdalene Odundo: The Journey of Things, featuring 50 of her works alongside 100 contemporary and historic pieces from all over the world, chosen by the artist, is at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich, until 15 December.
Your exhibition brings together works by a number of artists and designers, from Barbara Hepworth to Rodin. How did you choose the objects?
They are works I had seen that made me want to find out more about the artist, or coincided with what I was working on. One piece by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska is Bird Swallowing a Fish, a sculpture I first saw at Kettle’s Yard [in Cambridge]. In the very early days, when I arrived in this country, I remember it having such a puzzling interest for me. At the time, African art was very popular, in the sense that western artists had been very much influenced by the abstract aspect of the work. I came out thinking: “this work could be by an African artist, or by somebody who wasn’t western”.
You “hand-build” rather than using a wheel – can you explain the technique?
Each work originates with a ball of clay which is gradually hollowed out and pulled upwards to create the walls of the pot. Short lengths of coil are added to build height. As each piece rises, it is sculpted individually to create the distinctive silhouettes. Unlike throwing on a wheel, where the piece of clay is worked mechanically and shaped by relatively stable hands, I am the one moving around the work, or moving a turntable to shape each aspect of the form.
Your pieces are based on the human form – why?
Using the human form is a very natural way of sculpting with clay. After all, the Bible says that God took clay and used it to form man. It’s something that is within our culture. The first thing you do as a child is get a piece of clay, squeeze it into your hand, add bits and pieces, then draw an eye or a mouth on to it. Clay automatically lends itself to making. It is embodied into the motion of making a body, a person.
Describe a typical working day…
My wake-up alarm is my radio, tuned to either [the BBC] World Service, Radio 4, 3 or 2. From 8am it’s breakfast, then it’s to my desk, where I change radio stations to Jazz FM, Magic Soul or something lighter, and clear paperwork, answer calls. My older brother and his son are musicians, so I might listen to their music. I prepare clay or make drawings. Making pots tends to take place later in the day, a routine developed when I was looking after my son and teaching, and then finding time in the studio.
Ceramics are often described as “craft”. Do you think this is a helpful definition?
For me, crafting work is a term that means you are making work, you are actually crafting a piece of work. There is nothing wrong in making craft; I actually think it’s a very apt word for making, but it’s not helpful when it classifies certain work as not being of equal status to art. When you say you’re a craft person, people just assume that you don’t have the same attributes and the same ability as somebody who is an artist.
Do you think the art world takes ceramics seriously?
I think it’s beginning to do so. A lot of people from other mediums are now working in clay. This is not surprising, because of all making mediums, clay is the most versatile and pliable and naturally earthly, sympathetic and human. More than any other art, it has crossed the boundaries of disciplines in very interesting ways. You see people like Richard Deacon and Yayoi Kusama using clay. Tony Cragg has used clay for a long time, and his work is very object-oriented. There’s also Sterling Ruby.
I can’t actually think of anyone who isn’t excited about clay. I mean, look at Grayson Perry. But I would suggest that if someone is interested in seeing ceramics, they should visit the art school degree shows around the country.
• Magdalene Odundo: The Journey of Things is at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich, until 15 December
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