NAZERUL
KHAIRY BEN-DZULKEFLIWE SHAPESHIFT 72 TIMES A DAY / KREACHERS|DEITIES|VESSELS
EXHIBITION(S)
Compact Sculpture Exhbition, Kent Street Gallery, 2024.
Darlington Festival Open Art Exhibition 2023
This ongoing series of composite creatures is a natural progression from the exploration in anthropomorphic ceramic sacred site markers in my past exhibitions “This Is Where I Hope You’ll Dwell” and “I Hope You Can Hear Me From There”.
The creatures are imagined manifestations of demigods, deities and ancestral spirits from my place of birth, Singapore/Singapura [(lit. Lion City) (with no actual lions native to the island state)]. They composite appearances reflect the manner in which minorities and migrants contort, expand and shapeshift to fit into a new environment - codeswitching and adapting to standout or blend in. In the two collections mentioned above created between 2021 and early 2022, I explored the possibilities of marking sites and what I deem to be sacred spaces with totemic monuments that would lead guiding spirits from the Malay Archipelago to Western Australia, my new chosen home. I was often asked, “How do you imagine these spirits, gods and ancestral spirits would look like?” Feeling a little more settled after being here for 6 years, I feel these imagined spirits from my place of birth are ready to become corporeal and be seen. Each figure captures a moment in time during their shapeshifting process. One manifestation at a time.
This is a work in progress and more spirits, demigods and guardians will be added to this ongoing project.
Medium
Glazed and stained earthenwarePhoto credits
Artist’s own