Notes

Growing up surrounded by my mother’s collection of Delftware, the iconic blue-and-white motifs left a lasting impression on my visual memory. Now living in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, I find my creative practice deeply shaped by the region’s rich heritage of craft beadwork and Shweshwe cloth design. This body of work, Study in Blue, draws from these layered influences—much like the way fabric is stitched together in my mother’s quilt work. In this series of brooches and neckpieces, I adapt traditional Shweshwe patterns to suit the Botsotso stitch, a linear beading technique predominantly used in the pieces. The process of beading becomes a way to weave personal narrative with cultural memory, embodying a hybrid South African identity. Through material, motif, and repetition, these works explore the intersections of heritage, memory, and identity.

- Samantha Vincent

Exhibited

The work presented has been previously exhibited at Frame 2023, 'There’s No Place Like Home', Schmuck in Munich hosted by Tinsel Gallery, Germany 8-12 March 2023, Beaujolais Nouveau, 17 November 2023, Alliance Française, Durban, SA and, 'A House is not a Home...' Group Exhibition, June 2024, KZNSA, Durban, SA.