Biography

“Great artists are people who find themselves in their art.”   -  Margot Fonteyn

Marita Port is a recent Masters graduate of the National Arts School in Sydney, majoring in Ceramics. She was honoured to receive the N.E. Pethebridge Award for her final body of work which was inspired by her early career as a professional ballerina. Through clay, she explores the fundamental aspects of dance, such as movement in space, physical strength, metaphor, light, shadow and ephemerality. ‘Dancing with clay’ has become a joyful artistic experimentation. The physicality of the clay, the technical discipline of ceramic production and the multiplicity of potential outcomes are all enlivening explorations that recall the expressive creativity of ballet. During the hand-building processes of her ceramic objects, Marita surrenders to the dance between her hands to create movement and freedom. Her fine handling of the medium imprints the mark of the maker, applying layers of terrasigilatta to create a fine, silky film to further enhance the texture. Just as the ballerina finds great beauty and joy in being en pointe and attaining a level of virtuosity, Marita aims to reflect this joy in the form of seductive allure. She leads the viewer into the world of performance, allowing the spectator to complete the work simply through their presence.

Port’s artistic career began as a soloist with The Scottish Ballet company and she later worked as a choreographer and teacher in England and Australia.  The second phase of her career was as a partner of Phillip Emanuel Productions, producing film, theatre and documentaries, but it was through her engagement with courses at the National Art School that led to the completion of a BFA in 2015 and a Master of Fine Arts in 2021.