LH#1 (left heel - the weight of my body in clay)
This process-based artwork was made by repeatedly printing my left heel in small balls of raw porcelain clay and firing the resulting objects. The work is made to the current weight of my body.
The artwork is an ode to the lowly heel, a vital part of the body we rarely think about. But, as we no longer walk toe first, modern humans constantly carry the full force of their weight on their heels.
The artwork is an accompanying piece to RH#1 (right heel - the weight of my body in clay) made in 2024, and held in the permanent collection of Foundation Casa Wabi, Mexico - over 14,000 kilometres away. In recognition of my complex heritage as part of the Dutch and European colonial settlers, I chose to render my left heel in white porcelain clay. In this sense the work also traces my journey through different parts of the world, making visible a small part of my impact and continued presence thereupon.
Johan Thom (ZA)
Johan Thom is a South African artist, academic and curator who currently works as an Associate Professor at the University of Pretoria. His work is process-driven and explores materiality as a performative framework. Solo exhibitions by Thom include the Johannesburg Art Gallery (2008), Iwalewahaus (2010), Nirox Foundation and Sculpture Park (2024), the Goodman Gallery (Johannesburg, 2015) and Kalashnikovv Gallery (2023). Group exhibitions include the Canary Islands Biennale (2006), the Palazzo delle Papesse (2008) and many others. He has participated in conferences, workshops and artistic programmes at the Venice Biennale (2003, 2005), the University of Cambridge (2009), the Slade School of Fine Art (2010/11/12), Documenta 13 (2012), the University of Pretoria (2013/14/15 & 2021), “The Octopus Programme” (2020–22, University of Applied Arts Vienna), the African Centre for the Study of the United States (2022, IDSVA, Wits, UP, Nirox), “A Research of Doing” (2021–23, University of Applied Arts Vienna, The Centre For the Less Good Idea and UP), “Listening at The Edge” (2022–23, Pro Helvetia), and elsewhere. Most recently in 2025, he was invited as a visiting professor in Visual Art and Expanded Cinema at IUAV Faculty of Art and Design in Venice.
