Talented Nelson Mandela University master’s student in fine art Jaundre van Eck will host his solo exhibition, Die Vallei van Adem, at the Pretoria Art Museum from September 10 to November 8.
Van Eck’s practice explores the intersection of ceramics, sound, movement and embodied experience, creating interactive sculptural vessels that invite participation rather than passive observation.
The talented artist has already earned the overall winner in the Sasol New Signatures national art competition in 2025 for his work, Cycles of the Mind, and in 2024 was among the top seven, winning a Merit Award for his work, Waters of Life.
Working primarily with clay, he investigates how sound, touch and play can transform the relationship between artwork and the viewer.
Van Eck’s biomorphic ceramic forms encourage multisensory engagement, challenging the traditionally visual nature of gallery spaces and proposing alternative ways of experiencing contemporary ceramic art.
“Sound is the thread that brings these ideas together,” he said.
“Throughout my life, it has been one of the primary ways through which I have experienced and understood the world.
“Sound has the ability to calm us, to hold us through heartbreak, and to communicate where words begin to fail.
“Sound is more than what we hear; it is also what we feel.
“It can become companionship when we are alone, and a warm blanket when the soul feels cold.”
According to Van Eck, Die Vallei van Adem is a body of ceramic sound vessels that explores art as an experience rather than something simply observed.
Each sculpture is activated through movement, drawing air through water and a whistle so that it appears to breathe; this process produces sound while releasing scent into the surrounding space, making the works alive through touch and participation.
Although each vessel has its own voice, the sculptures are designed to function together.
Van Eck said their different sizes created higher and deeper tones, transforming the exhibition into a kind of choir and as visitors interact with the works, they become part of an evolving soundscape shaped by movement, sound, scent and presence.
The making process involved extensive experimentation with ceramic techniques, kiln furniture, glazes and firing methods to create durable, waterproof vessels.
Changes in surface treatment also led to experimentation with the clay itself.
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