Donté K. Hayes and Mary Laube discuss their relationships to and uses of vessels in their work, black as a color, and their interest in creating objects that are connected with their respective ancestors.
Mary Laube (ML):
Hello Donté, I have been really looking forward to having this conversation with you. I first came across your work when we were both published in Maake Magazine, Issue Eleven. Tanya Gayer’s curatorial statement begins with a phrase spoken often by her late mother, “Take care of each other.” She later writes, “Through the work of each selected artist featured here in Issue 11, I continue to think through such concepts of care that consider gaps in family knowledge and memories, along with parallel struggles of human connection intertwined with decolonizing history and identity. I have found solace in the camaraderie I feel with the artists of this issue who come to terms with what they know and will never know about themselves, their families, and their communities in order to generate true empathy and protection for each other.”
Donté K. Hayes (DH):
Hi Mary, Good morning. Thank you for starting the conversation. I too was struck by your work and interview in the Maake Magazine article.
The thought’s of Tanya Gayer’s curatorial statement speaks volumes to me as an artist and human being. In my work and daily life I try to create a space to create care for my surroundings and environment and initiate welcoming in times of chaos and despair.
ML:
I included an image of a recent painting of mine, “Container for the Seven Stars of the North,” because it has a striking resemblance to your work. In making this image I was thinking about a darkly lit museum containing a display of ancient vessels and artifacts used by our ancestors. I think about the objects in my work as vessels metaphorically speaking. They have the potential to contain both shared history and personal memories. As a ceramicist, what is your relationship to the vessel?
DH:
I want the wisdom of age, knowledge of the past of the ancestors to bring transformation for the future. Working in clay I see my work although sculptural but vessels that are turned upside down. Just like the crazy upside down world we live in. However, I know nothing is new under the sun. The ancestors went through way more. So, I’m hopeful. These sculptures are vessels to the memories of my own past and present while also pulling from the cosmic memories of those who have already gone.
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