Exploring Endurance and Persistence Through Ceramics in Ukuncikelela (To Hold On)
Tandabantu Nathaniel Jongikhaya Matola with his work, Ukuncikelela (to hold on/endure). Underglaze, clay and dishcloths, 5-Part: (5) 195 x 30cm. Courtesy of the artist and Sasol New Signatures.
Tandabantu Nathaniel Jongikhaya Matola, Runner-up for the Sasol New Signatures Art Competition 2024, was born in Zandukwana Village, Eastern Cape, 1996. He began sketching at a young age and later enrolled in the Fine Arts program at Walter Sisulu University in 2021, drawing inspiration from fellow potter Simphiwe Mbunyuza. While interested in painting and drawing, ceramics remains Matola’s primary passion.
His work reflects the experiences of Black South African communities, especially in rural areas, where limited finances lead to prolonged use of household items. Inspired by a worn dishcloth in his home, Matola began collecting old dishcloths from his village in exchange for new ones. He uses clay and underglaze to depict the homes he visited, symbolising resilience by weaving clay and cloth, a process he calls ukuncikelela (to hold on). PVA glue preserves the cloths, emphasising the ukungcola (dirtiness) from overuse.
Tell us your reaction when you received the news that your work had been selected.
I was so excited I could not believe my work had reached the final 7. I am still trying to comprehend the news.
Is this the first time you have entered the competition? If so, why, and if not, how many times is this competition vital to you?
Yes, it is the first time I have entered this competition. I have always wanted to participate but did not know how to do it. I could not take part previously until my ceramic lecturer told me and convinced me to enter. It is my first time entering work for a major competition like this, and it means a lot to be among the winners because it is where most young and upcoming artists begin their artistic trajectory and establish themselves in the South African art scene.
Tell us a little about your artistic journey up until the point of entering Sasol New Signatures 2024.
I grew up in the rural town of Libode in the Eastern Cape, where I realised early that I had a gift for art. Post high school, I enrolled for a Fine Art Diploma at Walter Sisulu University in 2021, specialising in Ceramics. I participated in a student exhibition at the National Arts Festival during my undergraduate studies. In 2023, I exhibited work at Ceramics Regionals Eastern Cape in Gqeberha and made a sale. I am currently working as a tutor for ceramics at the university. Having worked with my ceramic lecturer, he observed that I could start tapping into the art scene, and he then encouraged me to consider entering the 2024 Sasol New Signatures Competition.
Who has had the most significant influence on your career as an artist to date?
My former undergrad lecturer, advanced diploma supervisor, and mentor, Mr Sonwabiso Ngcai, has greatly influenced me both artistically and personally.
Tell us a little about why you created the piece you submitted.
Growing up in rural areas with consistent visits to other homes by friends and family, one develops a curious eye for things, including objects in different spaces, especially as an artist. However, these observations are also made in one’s intimate space, like one’s home. The observations are made unconsciously in situations where one is, after being served food, offered a dishcloth to wipe hands. Through making these observations, the idea of interrogating ukuncikelela (to hold on) was born because even at home, I noticed that the dishcloth is one of the items that people hold on to for so long, to the extent of getting too loose. Then, as an artist, this prompted me to investigate gathering dishcloths in my village in exchange for new ones. Not holding on to superstitions that come with taking a personal item from one’s home, people gave them to me willingly. For me, the dishcloth in my work symbolises the extent to which poverty can be seen in items such as dishcloth. And to me personally, it talks to perseverance and persistence.
Tandabantu Nathaniel Jongikhaya Matola, Ukuncikelela (to hold on/endure). Underglaze, clay and dishcloths, 5-Part: (5) 195 x 30cm. Courtesy of the artist and Sasol New Signatures.
Tell us about your preferred medium/s and why.
Growing up in rural areas is a privilege because of the openness of space/earth and being intrinsically connected to it (earth). Clay is earth and is part of my upbringing. I grew up doing clay cows, and my love for clay grew there. Still, I never knew that it has such potential and depth, including integrating it with various materials (drawing with underglazes, glazes, oxides), let alone infusing it with found objects like fabric. I aim to grow in this medium and become a better ceramic artist.
When people view your work – what reaction/response are you hoping to create?
With my art piece, I aim to inform the public about the differences along socio-economic lines and how people are, to a large degree, forced to hold on to things even to the extent of posing a threat to who they are and how they are being seen. Furthermore, I hope the viewer interacts with the artwork’s materiality, which underpins its conceptual undertaking.
Why do you think your work was chosen as one of the winning works?
My work was chosen because of its conceptual and technical depth and the artistic underpinning of small items like dishcloths, which can draw a conversation about social-economic dialogues.
Which South African artists do you admire and why?
Mr Simphiwe Mbunyuza is special in my life as a ceramic artist. It is not only because he makes exciting ceramic work but also because of his resilience as someone who comes from a rural town in the Eastern Cape. He is also a graduate of my university. And I aspire to be like him – an established ceramic artist nationally and internationally.
For more information, please visit Sasol New Signatures.
