Zizipho Poswa is co-owner of Imiso (meaning "tomorrow") Ceramics, located in the regenerated Woodstock suburb of Cape Town. Poswa is of Xhosa heritage, and uses the language in her titles. In 2017, South Africa’s women in the arts Mbokodo Awards honored her ceramic designs in the category of Traditional and Indigenous Arts. Her Ukukhula (meaning "growth") series consists of two highly abstracted and monumental sculptural forms. Technically challenging to create, each is constructed from three hand-thrown cylinders joined together and closed at the top using a coiling technique. Attributing both masculine and feminine qualities to opposing aspects within each piece, she considers them to be a pair. Poswa relates them to her personal history and professional development as she broadens her creative output from functional ceramic wares to collectible design. Originally from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, Poswa majored in textiles at Cape Peninsula University of Technology and worked as a textile designer before applying her design skills to clay.
Rosie Mills, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Associate Curator, Decorative Arts and Design, 2019
