Shupiwe Chongwe
exhibition
special-project
offsite
07 Feb – 21 Feb 2025
18:00–21:00
Cool Change, in partnership with PS Art Space, is pleased to present Bedforms, a solo exhibition by Walyalup/Fremantle-based artist Shupiwe Chongwe, for Perth Festival 2025.
Bedforms is a journey into the heart of family, culture, and tradition, expressed through the timeless medium of ceramics and contextualised by more recent forays into photography, video, and installation. Ambitious in scope, this exhibition will mark the first major solo presentation of Chongwe’s work, curated by Cool Change co-founder Grace Connors.
Developed while Chongwe undertook an artist residency at Modzi Arts in Lusaka in 2024, the new works in this exhibition consider her time spent reconnecting with family and observing traditional potters in Zambia. For the artist, this is not only a personal journey but a way to celebrate and preserve a cultural heritage at risk of being lost, with many of Zambia’s remarkable female potters approaching elderly age with no successors to their craft, and with the threats posed by urbanisation and technological advancements to traditional ways of life.
Chongwe is guided by her multi-generational connection to ceramics, which spans from her great-great-grandmother, a practicing potter in Zambia, to her father, renowned ceramicist Njalikwa Chongwe of Zinongo Gallery (Walyalup/Fremantle). She primarily works with stoneware clays to produce sculptural forms and experiments with terracotta, raku firing and traditional techniques to produce unique and often unexpected surface treatments. Through this practice, combined with her teaching of ceramics workshops, Chongwe aims to deepen the understanding and appreciation of diverse cultural narratives from the perspective of her Australian-Zambian heritage.
Exhibition opening:
6:00 – 9:00 PM
Friday, 7 February 2025
w/ DJ Makonde
Free event:
Registration is essential
Exhibition duration:
8 – 21 February 2025
CC × PS:
Ground Level (PS Art Space)
22 Pakenham Street
Fremantle WA 6160
Sunday – Monday • Closed
Tuesday – Friday • 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Saturday • 12:00 – 5:00 PM
Unless otherwise specified
Upcoming: Save the date
Artist talk:
6:00 – 7:00 PM
Tuesday, 18 February 2025
Further details TBA
Shupiwe Chongwe began experimenting with ceramics under the direction of her father, ceramicist Njalikwa Chongwe of Zinongo Gallery (Walyalup/Fremantle), later studying at North Metropolitan TAFE (Boorloo/Perth) whilst continuing to practice from her home studio. Within her multidisciplinary practice, Chongwe creates sculptural works from clay that reflect her connection to family, mixed cultural heritage, and the natural environment. Exploring tensions between the longstanding rivalry of art and craft, she teaches ceramics workshops and makes handmade ceramic vessels that can be used in everyday life.
Grace Connors is an artist, writer, and curator living in Boorloo/Perth. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) in 2016. Connors is presently the Chair of Cool Change, which she co-founded in 2018, and was previously an Exhibitions Volunteer at Success Arts and an Exhibitions Manager at Moana Project Space. She has curated exhibitions for Hobiennale in 2017, Symbiotica’s Unhallowed Arts Festival in 2018 and co-curated an exhibition at Cool Change for Perth Festival in 2021. She has also presented papers at the Revelation Film Festival Academic Conference in 2018 and the UWA Gender Diversity in Music and Art Conference in 2019.
This project is supported by City of Fremantle, the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries, PS Art Space and Joe's Printing.
Cool Change is supported by the Visual Arts, Craft and Design Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments.