Murjoni Merriweather | A Love of Clay

Our radar sits comfortably on Baltimore native Murjoni Merriweather - a sculptor who creates clay and ceramic works revolving around African-American culture.

Merriweather’s work bases itself on the self-love, self acceptance and self discovery of African-Americans. Citing her influences on communities, people of colour, black bodies and black hair, the artist graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) with a double-major in ceramics and film/video.


Ocean Africa: Women play such pivotal role in all our lives - do you have a woman who you admire and carried a positive image of women?

Murjoni Merriweather: There are a number of women who inspire me and my work. The main one is all black women. As a black woman, we have gone through so much, from the judgement of our bodies to how we live our day to day lives. We have to overcome all of these prejudgements and most of us still manage to keep a smile on our faces. I love and appreciate each woman of colour. I also admire my mother of course, the person who has inspired me in the art world. And lastly I admire my two best friends, Jo Nana and Amani Lewis who push me to overcome the difficulties of being a black woman in the society we live in today.


Name: S H I N I N ’

Medium: Clay

Year: Winter 2016

This sculpture is about the self love a black woman. I feel as though black women have to fit the Eurocentric standards of society (skinny, long hair etc.) in order to feel beautiful. This is not true. I decided to create a black woman, who had no hair, big lips, and a gap (things that have always been deemed “ugly” in society), and manages to love herself for how she naturally comes. She shines through all the negativity.



Name: SEE ME

Medium: Ceramic, acrylic, charcoal powder, graphite powder & gold leaf

Year: Winter, 2016

SEE ME’ creates conversations about black men and how they are portrayed. In the media, black people, especially men are portrayed as ‘dangerous’ and ‘intimidating’. In this piece, the character fits the stereotype of what an ‘intimidating’ black man may be by his hair and his grills (although these features should not be seen as intimidating). He is pulling his mouth open, forcing people to see what is inside of him. He wants people to judge him based on his insides, not what he looks like on the outside.


(Credit: All images courtesy of the artist)

Follow Murjoni Merriweather on Instagram: @mvrjoni