This work is part of Karlien van Rooyen’s 2024 exhibition, Anamist.

Of her first encounter with clay, Karlien says, “One of my earliest profound memories of childhood is when we went fishing by a dam with my dad and grandfather. My sister and I ran about playing in the shallows and discovered a section of the dam where our tiny feet sank into the silkiest smooth ground. This got my dad’s attention too who also came to play and investigate. With his long arms, he reached into the water and dug out handfuls of clay. He carried it to the bank where we sat, transfixed, watching him sculpt the most lifelike models of the indigenous Nguni cattle.

“I was mesmerised by his ability to create something from this seemingly formless slippery mass. When he handed me the miniature beast my imagination took hold and since then I’ve always wanted to create that kind of magic for others. It might be a bit animist, but to be able to sculpt something from such a basic raw material feels like I can bring another being into the world that comes alive inside the minds of others.”