ABSTRACT
Ceramics is a field of study that has gained usefulness in vital areas of human tasks due to the special qualities of the earthy material (clay) that is usually employed. The sourcing, manipulation and firing of clay items result in ceramics of divergent nature which include, table wares, sanitary wares and conceptual ceramics. This study chose to dwell on the conceptual aspect of ceramics that has the capacity for social commentary through the "construction and deconstruction" of forms. Conceptual ceramics proclaims the modern era in a variety of ways. It produces works that speak about contemporary issues in day to day life, thus offering great conceptual framework upon which academic discussion could be generated. The emphasis on the utilitarian and industrial ceramics especially in Nigeria, no doubt is useful to the society for household and industrial applications, but it narrows the potentials inherent in ceramics, and lacks creative expression of ideas, techniques and style. A potter who engages in the production of tableware or sanitary wares may not require any high level of education to do this, and his works may not carry any subject matter that could trigger discussion or investigation, and as such cannot be a pedagogical tool that may promote learning in some related fields. The conceptual aspect of ceramics which is globally recognised for its interrogational strength in commenting on social, historical and political issues, has been taken for granted in Nigeria. Only a few ceramic artists have taken the style as a practice. These few artists adopt other forms of clay media to represent their research outcomes, however, none to the best of the researcher?s knowledge has utilised the construction and deconstruction of wares in form of slabs to interrogate Nigeria?s historical experiences in conceptual style. The aim of this study is to construct and deconstruct clay wares in form of slabs to render in a conceptual manner, some aspects of Nigeria's historical experiences in tactile form by adopting the frame work as exemplified in the works of renowned ceramic artists like Abbas Ahuwan, Chris Echeta and Ozioma Onuzulike. Their vii style of ceramics is within the confines of conceptual ceramics which this research has adopted. Studio based research approach was adopted for convenience in the actualisation of the aim and objectives of this research through a concept of construction and deconstruction of clay forms. This study has shown that, the uniqueness of conceptual clay forms in this study lends a voice to a variety of historical issues where utilitarian ceramics cannot represent. This study has developed an alternative way of producing conceptual ceramic forms by the process of building baseless cylindrical forms on the potter?s wheel, cutting open into slabs (constructing and deconstructing) before alteration. This study has also established that while the practice of ceramics such as tableware, sanitary ware and industrial ceramics are well favoured in the Nigeria context for the purposes of household and industrial usage, conceptual ceramics has the power to bring to limelight the creative prowess of a ceramist in commenting on issues of national societal debate.