LOT 45: Viola Greyling

Artist Statement – Viola Greyling – 2024

My ceramic sculptures serve as an exploration of identity within the context of cultural intersection—a liminal space that both separates and fuses distinct ways of life. This body of work narrates the story of my own identity as an Afrikaans-speaking South African woman who has lived between South Africa and Australia.

The move to a new continent, where languages and customs diverge from my own, has heightened my interest in the threads that bind human experiences across distances. The ocean, a vast and connecting force, has become a symbol in my search for universal human ties—emotions, behaviours, and dreams that transcend geography.

This recent relocation has fragmented my family across continents, deepening the themes of separation and connection in my art. I find myself yearning for the simple, yet profound act of sharing a cup of tea—moments now lost to distance.

My current practice reflects the evolution of my identity amid the currents of migration, the bittersweet return to a ‘home’ that feels altered by time and experience, and the deep-seated desire to reconnect with family living afar. These experiences manifest in my work through abstract ceramic forms and reimagined daily objects, like teapots, symbolising the familiar rituals that distance has disrupted.

In each sculpture, there lies an expression of my shifting self, a tangible form to the intangible longing and transformation shaped by my journey across oceans.