Magdalene Odundo at Wedgwood

2024

Ceramicist Magdalene Odundo was born in Kenya and works in Great Britain. As Artist in Residence at Wedgwood, she has drawn on their archival designs, including Josiah Wedgwood’s Am I Not A Man?, to craft modern ceramic sculptures that address the history of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the Civil Rights Movement. Odundo’s sculpture brings Wedgwood’s anti-slavery symbol into the present day, reframing the kneeling figure as a standing, independent figure whose arm is raised in triumphant protest.