Celebrating Connection Through Earth, Fire and Craft

As Curación Collection’s new Artist in Residence, Mick Haigh creates work that reflects the values the Cape Town-based multidisciplinary design studio holds close: thoughtful craftsmanship, a deep respect for material and the belief that the best things are shaped slowly.

PHOTOS Thea Cogil/Courtesy of Curación Collection

Sourcing clay from the land around him, South African clay artist Mick Haigh forms each vessel by hand before firing it in a long wood-fired kiln. Each piece carries the marks of flame, ash and chance, shaped as much by nature as by the maker.

His Kiln IV collection speaks to ritual and slowness, offering vessels made to be held, used and lived with.

Curación Collection shares this focus on process, material and intention: a commitment to the quiet beauty of everyday ritual. Here, Mick tells us about his practice and current body of work.

What do you hope people feel or carry with them after encountering your work in this space?

“Connection, that humans are not just visitors but part of this living planet. Finding your place at home here in this wild world changes a lot.”

Your work is shaped by earth, fire and time. How do these forces influence your approach to making?

“My approach is not cerebral; clay comes from the earth, not a plastic bag. Wood comes from trees and time from the sun. All these raw elements speak for themselves; I connect the conversation. My approach is counterintuitive: what can this clay around me do, what temperature will it vitrify at, how thick does the vessel wall have to be to stand up to fire, and how long will the fire heat take to vitrify the clay? So materials influence the making as much as my ideas about what to make.”

Can you speak to the role of slowness and process in your practice?

“Slowness and process intertwine through materials. Clay air dries at its own rate based on airflow and humidity, and wood burns at the rate of oxygen supply. My practice is governed by how my materials behave, and how much I can modify them.

“The sun and moon cycles happen independent of how busy we are. Our minds bend time. Natural materials like clay and wood behave outside of time. My practice captures this time, recording the slow process of turning malleable clay born of eroded rock over millions of years into hard, enduring rock again. Bending time through material provenance.”

What inspired you to create this body of work?

“My inspiration comes from knowing that living with meaningful objects can create meaning in our lives. How objects make you feel enhances your quality of life. Do we need more objects in this world? I think we need more feeling in this world.”

How does your current body of work explore a sense of place?

“Provenance is very powerful, connecting humans to source. Being rooted in the familiar warmth of earth, the non-challenging warmth of things made by hand for human comfort gives a sense of I am part of this place, not a superior observer but part of this living world which I affect and which affects me. Connection.”

What values do you feel you share with the Curación Collection, and the body of work you’re creating?

“Human living/leisure environment can only be as good as the evolved thought put into its creation. I create pieces which I feel are not available. I have thought about how I can supply vessels, artworks, pieces to enhance living spaces and quality of life. I feel much goes into the building and designing of structures, and not enough attention goes into how they feel because of what we put in them and how we use them. What we choose to live with. After decades of designing and making tabletop ceramics, I am now using my clay knowledge and skill to explore vessels as art pieces as feelings of expression. I strongly feel the living/workspace edit is long overdue. The values we have in common lie in the quality of feeling and expression, no more average to get the job done.” curacion-collection.co.za | mickhaigh.com

Mick Haigh’s work will be on display at Curación – 9 Orphan Street, Cape Town – from 6th August until the 30th August.

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