The Aardvark is medium-sized, nocturnal, burrowing mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. Often called an "earth pig," it has a long snout, rabbit-like ears, and a thick, kangaroo-like tail, it eats ants and insects using its strong front legs to break into hard mounds and its long, sticky, 30 cm tongue to consume up to 50,000 insects in a single night. This collection explores the intersection of earth and sky, the tethered and the untethered, the real and the mythical. As an artist, I have spent 30 years crafting jewellery—transforming metal into intricate forms—but my passion ceramic sculpture has bloomed since covid. In my collection "The Ascended Herd: Escaping the Earthly Plane," I reimagine the majestic creatures of Africa not as bound to the earth, but as celestial beings breaking free from gravity itself. These sculptures are not just dreamlike visions but reflections on reality. Many of Africa’s great animals—face the looming threat of extinction. Poaching, habitat destruction, and climate change are erasing them from the landscapes they have roamed for millennia. In my work, I ask: What if evolution found another path? If survival on land becomes impossible, perhaps these creatures would transcend, growing wings to escape into the sky, migrating beyond human reach. Inspired by figurative art, African heritage, and a twist of fantasy, my sculpture embodies the tension between loss and hope, reality and mythology. They represent freedom, resilience, and the ever-present struggle to adapt. Through clay, I aim to give movement to stillness, to capture the echo of hooves against the sky, and to tell stories of creatures no longer bound by earth, but transformed in the pursuit of survival. this piece is expertly crafted from stoneware clay and meticulously finished with a beautiful copper wash, glaze, and 24ct gold lustre, this winged creature is the perfect sculpture for whimsical and quirky home decor lovers, and is sure to spark conversations and bring a touch of magic and fun to any room. size:Height 115 mm Length 210 mm Width 85 mm Made from Stoneware clay, finished with a copperwash and clear glaze, and real gold lustre
