CULTURE CLUB
TAKING SHAPE
FORMATIVE YEARS A NEW DISPLAY AT THE FITZWILLIAM MUSEUM EXPLORES THE INFLUENCE OF MEMORY ON THE UNMISTAKABLE WORK OF CERAMIC ARTIST MAGDALENE ODUNDO
It’s half a century since Magdalene Odundo DBE moved to East Anglia to take an Art Foundation course at Cambridge School of Art. There, the artist would soon happen upon her love of ceramics, thanks to time spent studying with Zimbabwean-born pottery teacher Zoë Ellison. It was Ellison who encouraged Odundo to begin making, introducing her to contemporary British studio potters and catalysing her decision to embark on a career in ceramics. During her time in Cambridge 50 years ago, Odundo visited the FitzwilliamMuseum, along with the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, many times. She marvelled at the array of ceramics on display, often hailing from the farthest reaches of the globe, and soon became captivated by clay’s versatility as a medium. The young student immersed herself in the city’s rich and varied museum collections, drawing from them the foundations which would help build her career. Odundo began crafting her own ceramic works, developing an incredibly distinctive style that has since gained her an enviable reputation in the art world. She spent time training with women potters in Nigeria and Kenya, picking up
skills that provided further nuance. Her works – usually striking, large vessels – favour form over function, appearing most frequently in shades of black and terracotta. Often, the artist will spend days, or even weeks, on a single piece, employing laborious burnishing techniques to achieve an impressive natural sheen. To celebrate, and in some ways commemorate, Odundo’s time in Cambridge 50 years ago, the artist has collaborated with the Fitzwilliam to curate a visual exploration of her
Odundo by Ellison back in her Cambridge School of Art days. Helen Ritchie, in-house curator of the exhibition, was heavily involved in sourcing the items on display, many of which were drawn frommemory alone.
formative memories. The resulting exhibition could be deemed part-collection, part-recollection. It’s made up of pieces ranging from works by Odundo herself, to archival examples of ceramics
“Sometimes it would take a lot of trawling through images to find what we were looking for, and other times it would be very straightforward,” explains Helen. “There was a particular flat dish from the late 1600s that Magdalene
YOU GET A SENSE OF HER VOICE
that appeared in the city’s museums while Odundo was still a student. The exhibition also comprises rare pieces by Ellison – as the Fitzwilliam is one of the few museums in the United Kingdom to house her work – along with several examples that were initially introduced to
remembered clearly; it had stayed with her, and contributed to her thinking much later down the line. We made so many memory connections to objects fromMagdalene’s time in Cambridge – a kind of subconscious unearthing.” Although responsible for much of the internal legwork, the curator credits Odundo for imbuing the display with its unique character. “You get a strong sense of Magdalene’s voice in the exhibition,” Helen comments. “All of the labels, the ceramic pieces – they were chosen by Magdalene herself.” This thought process has also influenced the physical presentation. Situated in one of the Fitzwilliam’s light-flooded, ground-floor galleries, the ceramics are displayed in spaced-out cases, allowing for a full 3D experience. There are four pieces of Odundo’s work interspersed throughout the exhibition, including one at each of the gallery’s two entrances, acting simultaneously as a bookend to the display’s multi-referential narrative – and as an anchored starting point for visitors entering from either side. The works first situate you in the space, and from there allow you to explore the scope of the exhibition in its entirety. Odundo has always advocated for the importance of visual literacy, and this carefully curated display encourages the viewer to look closely, take in the form and shape of the works, and consider the intricate links between them. Magdalene Odundo in Cambridge opens on 5 October at the FitzwilliamMuseum. To find out more, and to explore the accompanying audio resources, visit the website. fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk
DOWNMEMORY LANE With remarkable life experience and a wealth of global ceramic knowledge, Magdalene Odundo’s works are now here to be enjoyed, at the FitzwilliamMuseum
20 OCTOBER 2021 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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