Ceramics by design
by Muzaffar Ali
NCA graduate Salman Ikram has an interminable passion for pottery and his exquisite pieces of ceramics have penetrating influence over their viewers.
Salman Ikram's pots are an exploration of the relationship between movement and time, and of the interplay between conscious efforts and an unconscious use of skills and experiences. Both in form and surface, his pots are loose orchestrations of geometry and colour which tell the story of the making process. This relationship between form and surface is integral to Salman's aesthetic approach to ceramics. It is important to him that his pots tell the story of the hands and the fire that brought them to life.
Salman is aiming at a challenging breakthrough within the symmetry of thrown pieces to make every piece more dynamic and sculptural. Salman, a National College of Arts graduate, has an interminable passion for pottery and his
exquisite pieces of ceramics have penetrating power and influence over their viewers. He said that working on a lump of clay swirling on top of the 'Chaak' was a pure thrill. "To give a form and a shape evolving in mind to a lump of clay is pure bliss," he added.
An identical shaped pot called the Vang Kuza named after the local word for a bangle, was built by him with immaculate skill.
Salman said, "My works is an exploration of materials and techniques which are employed to create individualistic forms, featuring a balance between shapes, texture and colours. I usually work on a single idea expressed by not a perfect piece, but a series- al limited sequence of variations on a basic relationship of forms. "To me, crystals seem like beautiful paintings on the surface of the pots which have undergone a trial by fire several times. They have that
potential for no trace-something can come out of the kiln.
They are organic and they are widely varied. I find the spontaneously formed crystal patterns in the glazes to be a never ending source of delight," he concluded.
Weekly Independent, June 10, 2004
