Maxine Maistry

Shining Pots

Growing up, I had a very different childhood to that of my grandmother (Ma). While she was raised to be the perfect daughter, mother and wife- I was raised in a space where my independence and education took priority.

We were taught to value different things.

My Ma has been somewhat of a living archive for me. Her lifestyle has become a route to understanding generational knowledge that becomes a way of reaffirming our identities, despite the distance, and displacement that exits amongst us.

She’s taught me the importance of education that exists outside of a classroom- education that exists as habits, education that is social, familial, accessible and recognizable within the space of everyday existence.

Shining Pots (2022) is a series that looks at this kind of social learning. This series follows a laborious process of removing the charred debris left behind on pots after cooking on an open fire- an act burned into my Ma’s memory from a young age.

To me, social education preserved in history, somewhat resembles an asymptote. It’s something we get closer and closer to but never fully embody. Something that has its own limits, intersections, meeting points, accumulations and trajectories amongst us all.