Two of my favourite things have been combined in one place; great southern Indian food and delicate ceramic vessels! The colourful Ganapati Indian restaurant on Bellenden Road is hosting a show of Pottery by Yuta Segawa. I first saw Segawa’s work at the Design Junction London show last September. The view of an expanse of his multi coloured collection of miniature vessels was entrancing, I have always loved the concept of repetition and editioning as a means of making collections, and this graduate of Camberwell College of Arts had explored the idea via ceramics.
Finding Segawa’s ceramics on show in Ganapati, was a lovely surprise, and I love the fact that he has continued to explore the idea of multiples through his study of traditional Indian terracotta cups.
Through the Marius Dean Travel Bursary, Segawa has studied the production of disposable clay chai cups. These cups are made of local clay and fired at very low temperatures. Indian potters throw them quickly, producing approximately three cups a minute. Segawa says ‘They throw by the same motion and apply the same amount of pressure. It is an amazing technique that reveals one of the ways in which the human body and artwork are related in the creation process.”
There is a mix of Segawa’s glazed vessels and simple biscuit fired cups, all exhibited in long rows along the walls of the restaurant, enhancing and emphasising the repetition element of the show.
The exhibition runs until the 6th March 2016.