Artist Statement

Light piercing through the eyes and mouths of coughing and scrunched faces, Looking for a Cure imagines a mystical potion bottle that holds the solution to a sickness. This bottle was thrown, altered, and then sculpted on. It is brown stoneware fired up to cone 10 reduction. The faces are representative of those infected- with their time eaten away as they wait for a cure that finally settles and helps them. The potion bottle is obscured by the smokey base under it and the coily clutter that surrounds it. Although it has a scary appearance, it contains the cure. The faces are looking outwardly, desperate for something to alleviate the pain. Sometimes the cure is there but we are looking the wrong direction.

Artist Bio

Evelyn Mtika has been working with clay for just shy of 3 years. Her work includes portraiture, figures, text, and is focused on exploring intertwined cultural connections and differences. She often pulls her inspiration from different aspects of her own background, having grown up within the crossroads of intersectionality - between a Black and African diasporic household and as the oldest and only daughter. She is currently a resident at Clay Art Center. She received her BFA from University of Hartford with a focus in ceramics and painting.