Conceptual ceramics have unlimited boundaries, and go beyond household utility into issues of societal concerns. This series uses a conceptual approach to portray and interrogate the electioneering malpractices that have bedeviled the political landscape of African democracy. Basterdized Electoral Process, (2017), the title of the work in this study, illustrates the politics of greed, impunity and insensitivity used against the citizens of Africa, to keep them under the weight of oppression.
The artist in traditional African society was the creator, the engineer and most importantly, the spiritualist. He directed and served society in matters of aesthetics – determining what was beautiful and otherwise. In contemporary times, the artist has also become a social commentator, using art as a tool for self-expression, and to address societal issues. In this same way, I have used my series of ceramics to explore the African electoral system, and the officially sanctioned electioneering that takes place. I want to promote discussions around these concerns, starting with my choice for using a provocative title.
The average African understands clay as being purely for the
