Details
Wheel-thrown and coiled terracotta with plaster
H 20 cm, ⌀ 20 cm
 
 
From the series 'Ignis: The Materiality of the Self':
 
We all carry a fire
It keeps us warm, it brightens our lives. Our inner child
Play, fun. No rules, no expectations.
Creative, present.

All that I once sacrificed. Achieving, becoming, arriving ruled my life.
 
Ignis is my pathway to a balanced existence.
 
Clay. The soil we stand on, we come from. It requires patience, steadiness, a slow pace. It needs care, attentiveness to be shaped, to prevent ruin.
My adult, my parent.
 
Plaster, on the other hand, is the child.
Spontaneous, quick.
One minute liquid, the next hard like a stone. Be here or it is gone.
 
Bringing these two materials and the different qualities they have and foster together, has allowed me to be more me, to get closer to a sense of wholeness. Letting that fire burn, shine, while remaining grounded, nurtured.
 
A balance resulting from the combination of materials I had once been told should not be combined. I transcended that conflict to find the joy and peace I had lacked.
 
Bisila Noha 2022
 
 
 
About the Artist
Bisila Noha is a Spanish London-based ceramic artist. Her work draws from influences and explorations of her Spanish and Equatorial Guinean heritage. With her work, Bisila aims to challenge Western views on art and craft; to question what we understand as productive and worthy in capitalist societies; and to reflect upon the idea of home and oneness pulling from personal experiences in different pottery communities.
 
Her practice extends from wheel-thrown pieces with the distinctive addition of marbled slip decoration to create eye-catching abstract landscapes; to sculptural pieces mixing throwing, coiling and carving which connect her to her roots, the makers that precede her and our past.
 
Her work has been featured in many publications including the Financial Times and the New York Times. Notable exhibitions include the Crafts Council’s exhibition ‘Maker’s Eye’ in 2021 and the landmark exhibition ‘Body Vessel Clay’ at Two Temple Place - presenting the work of Ladi Kwali, Magdalene Odundo and Bisila Noha, three generations of Black women artists working with clay, to 'celebrate surprising new ways of exploring one of the world’s oldest artform.'
 
In 2022, two of Bisila's sculptures were acquired from Thrown by the V&A for their permanent collection.
 
 
Delivery Options
Delivery to Mainland UK via specialist art courier.
International delivery available within 14 days.
 
 
14 Day Guarantee
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