Andile Dyalvane (born 1978) creates complex ceramic art­ works that can be read as metaphorical objects in which he reflects on the deep spiritual band to his Xhosa ancestors (one of the ethnic groups in South Africa). This goes hand in hand with the artist’s great fascination with nature, something to be discerned in his 2022 piece entitled “iYuku” (Baby Bird) from his “iNgqweji” (Bird’s Nest) series. Here, Dyalvane draws on the creativity and artistry of weaverbirds for inspiration. The birds weave large communal nests that can today be seen hanging from power pylons rather than trees, a prime symbol of Nature’s intelligent adaptation to a changed environment and thus habitat.

In his installation “Bond”, Ofori Agyei addresses the subject of dislocation by looking at issues such as cultural identity, the meaning of home, rituals and history. For him – he considers both Ghana and the United States as his home – ceramics represent the ideal medium for lending concrete artistic dimensions to his own experiences. The act of combining this malleable material with colorful batik fabrics and yarns is important in this context. The batik fabric comes from Indonesia but is printed in Ghana; the yarn itself was, by contrast, sourced in China. For the artist, these fibers are a politically charged material that is not only culturally specific but also stands for our global interchange.
This basic approach serves both as a visual metaphor and as a means of lending expression to the complexity of dislocation as both an internal and an external experience.

Thanks to Duke Franz von Bayern for his generous support and his furtherance of Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum