This summer, the South London Gallery (SLG) will present a solo exhibition by British Nigerian artist Ranti Bam (b.1982, Lagos), in the Fire Station galleries.

Bam works across clay, ceramics, performance, film and photography. Her practice unfolds in two connected bodies of work, the Ifas and Abstract Vessels. The Ifas are large scale stoneware forms, created by Bam’s intimate gesture of embracing raw clay against her body before firing to create vessels that collapse and fold. In contrast, the terracotta Abstract Vessels unfold a world of colour, texture and pattern, which are inspired by Yoruba material and immaterial language. For the exhibition at SLG Bam explores spirituality, rest and communal gathering through a film installation, sound piece and new large-scale clay sculptures.

Ranti Bam lives and works between Paris and Lagos. Bam has exhibited internationally including Anima, at James Cohan, New York (2024), Hard/Soft: Textiles and Ceramics in Contemporary Art, Museum of Applied Arts, Austria, (2023), and The Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool (2023). Bam is one of six artists invited to create permanent public art for the European Capital of Culture in Finland launching in June of 2026.

To coincide with London Craft Week the South London Gallery’s Head of Programme, Lily Tonge, will host a tour of the exhibition at the SLG on Wed 13 May 2026. The tour begins in the Fire Station Galleries at 6.30pm.