Dancing on the Bridge

sketchfab

Dancing on the Bridge features a more elaborate construction with a sculptural component and large wavy-branch handle that assume centre-stage and command attention. Dr Iskandar’s extensive sketches and notes on architectural features such as mosque arches, towers, domes and temple gateways have inspired and shaped many of his pottery forms. The impetus for this piece does not lie in representing a structural form or likeness of ‘a bridge’ but in endowing this pot with mood and movement. The spirit of exuberance is much like the exhilaration Dr Iskandar wrote about in his ‘clay diary’ when he completed the ‘Sydney bridge climb’ in 2004 *. The ‘bridge’ is suggested by the sculptural, scroll-like attachment that doubles-up as a handle-rest. The sizeable waves of the handle offer pictorial rhythms that echo the gestures of dancing. Vigorous energy is conveyed by the expressive lines incised on the pot’s belly through the sgrafitto technique.