Clement makes top three in National Craft Awards

Maenetja (23) made the podium courtesy of his range of ceramic plates, which were created to resemble the enamel plates of his youth.

Naming his work ‘Memories’, the TUT fine and applied arts graduate told the Advertiser that the name came about from him appreciating the love he received growing up.

“I’m that person who is attached to memories because I think yesterday is better than today,” he explained.

On what inspired his work, the craftsman, who is originally from Turfloop in Limpopo and specialises in ceramics, said: “My work is six ceramic plates created to resemble the enamel plates that I used in my youth, with seeds inside of them also created out of clay.

“So this work explores my personal history and also juxtaposes my memories with the surroundings in which I grew up in.

“Speaking of his achievement at the awards, the local talent expressed: “I was happy, I didn’t believe I made it to the top three and it really means a lot to me. It gave me courage to keep on working and believing in my work.”

Maenetja began his journey when one of his lecturers in tertiary he refers to as Phineas, guided him in the space of artistry.

“When I enrolled at TUT, I only thought drawing was the only way to express our ideas in arts but I didn’t know that there were more ways to express our ideas using different mediums like clay, paint, and glass.

“As a ceramist, I’d say working with clay is the best thing because it is easy to manipulate yet remains challenging, I love the way it challenges me.”

Anyone interested in purchasing Maenetja’s work can email him at clementmakibane@gmail.com or send him a message on WhatsApp on 076 534 7631.

Johannesburg resident Oageng Manana’s hand-made chest of drawers, inspired by the dashiki (a boldly patterned West African garment) most impressed the judges as he was named the winner. He pocketed R50 000.

Second place was shared by Krugersdorp’s Pierre Fourie and Nelspruit’s Yolandi Diesel.

Fourie’s entry was a majestic horse’s head crafted from hundreds of individual strands of 4mm-steel round bar, while Diesel entered an intricately hand-carved animal skull.

This year, four categories were added to the competition, thanks to the support of the National Department of Arts and Culture. The categories recognise craftsmen who make a living from their talent and who use recycled or heritage material. Now in its fourth year, the Innibos National Craft Awards has seen a steady growth in entries, with 1 360 works being submitted this year.

The winners shared R165 000 in prize-money. Innibos Digitaal The craft exhibition officially opened Innibos Digitaal, an exciting online line-up of archived and new music and theatre productions. Innibos Digitaal’s shows will be available until December, when it is hoped the ever-popular Innibos Arts Festival will, as usual, will be hosted in Mpumalanga’s capital city of Mbombela.

Tickets for Innibos Digitaal are available from Computicket.

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