"Mama Dunia"

2025
Glazed stoneware, engobe, wild clay
12.5 in. X 6.5 in. X 12 in.


Mama Dunia (Mother Earth) reflects on the enduring strength of women as caretakers, providers, and bearers of both life and memory. The stacked vessels suggest the weight of responsibility carried across generations while honoring traditions of resilience found throughout the African diaspora. Rather than depicting a single individual, the sculpture serves as an archetype of endurance, abundance, and quiet dignity.

Constructed from multiple wheel-thrown forms, the piece incorporates wild clay gathered from family land alongside reclaimed clay and porcelain, uniting distinct clay bodies within a single work. Fired to cone 6 oxidation and finished with a sating black engobe, the sculpture embodies the idea that identity, like clay itself, is formed through many histories coming together.