This body of work was inspired by my experience as a young boy visiting my grandparents’ home, where the ball-and-claw design was predominantly used for the ‘voorkamer’ (lounge) furniture.  The shape of these furniture legs made a large impression on me – they fascinated me with their associations of the mythical and other-worldly that they generally brought into the quite drab and strict space of the white Calvinist homestead.  In spite of the omnipresence of ball-and-claw designs in many South African homes, they are colonial imports that recall a local obsession with Western design and etiquette. 

Associated with 18th-century Queen Anne furniture and American Chippendale style, these cabriole legs were typical of colonial-period designs. The pieces from the Ball & Claw series reevaluate (and queers) objects that originated from a colonial design culture.  Be it in Imbuia wood, distressed cement or marshmallow-pink silicone, these pieces offer a contemporary take on conservative cultural remnants and aesthetic traditions.

Writings on the work include: ‘Die Kweer Kolonie’, in POMP (available here) and ‘Queering Anne’ in Design Indaba Magazine (available here)