At a glance, Xanthe Somers’s large, vibrant ceramic pieces exude optimism and joy. But the 33-year-old Zimbabwean native’s vessels are what she calls a “visual language” of her ongoing quest to “understand myself as a white Zimbabwean and the legacy of colonialism in Zimbabwe.” She explores the overlooked and undervalued labor of women in the home, using clay and cloth, and the symbolism of weaving as a vessel for storytelling.
“In Zimbabwe, the history of clay and weaving has been in the hands of women,” she says. “But it doesn’t hold the stories of women; it holds the stories of men. So I think it’s about trying to change that dialogue about how we weave these narratives.” See and learn more about her work here.