The Unseen Bond is rooted in the memory of Malerato, my *Grootmaak-Ma, but it reaches beyond one personal story. It is about recognising the often unseen labour of women who raise, carry, teach, protect and love children into adulthood. Through three different mediums namely ceramics, graphite drawings and sculpture, I use memory to explore nurture and care as something that shapes us deeply, even when it is not formally recognised or publicly visible.
The work moves through pareidolia, botanical forms, seed pods, and fragments of nature, allowing familiar shapes and memories to emerge from organic forms. The ceramic seed forms speak of growth, origin and the quiet beginnings of attachment. The ceramic seed forms speak of growth, origin and the quiet beginnings of attachment.
The graphite drawings preserve moments of observation and memory, while the fragmented mother-and-child sculpture gives physical form to the act of carrying, holding and protecting. Its yellow powder-coated surface introduces warmth, visibility and presence into a body that is deliberately broken and reconstructed.
Together, these works form a visual language of care, memory and belonging. They suggest that some of the most important relationships in our lives are not defined by blood, title or public recognition, but by repeated acts of tenderness and responsibility. Like seeds planted quietly, these bonds take root over time and continue to shape us long after childhood has passed.
The Unseen Bond is ultimately an act of recognition. It is a way of giving form to the love, labour and presence of someone whose influence remains deeply embedded in who I am.
* Grootmaak-Ma: a woman who helped raise us.