Duma Mtimkulu is a young ceramics artist from Johannesburg. His work is inspired by social issues, and his chosen medium is crockery. From single parenting to death, women's rights and young people's employment prospects - this young designer invests his creations with a wealth of meaning. Yolisa Njamela finds out more.

Duma Mtimkulu realized his passion for art and design at a young age. But he only came across ceramics while studying towards his Fine Arts degree.

DUMA MTIMKULU CERAMICS DESIGNER "Well, in the beginning to be honest, it was just curiosity you know. When I was doing my first year in university in 2014, that's when I actually discovered ceramics and then it progressed from there into becoming a more conceptual kind of approach where I started embodying or attaching meaning to the objects that I made."

Mtimkulu works with different types of clay -- a challenging medium. But he savours the process it takes to produce a single piece of art.

DUMA MTIMKULU CERAMICS DESIGNER "My work involves a lot of issues that are socially driven. So for example I talk about the issue of crime which leads to death. I do talk about death; I talk about anxiety. I talk about the relationship between parents and kids. So in my work, you can notice that you can see a lot of kids as the subject matter and also women and myself as well. I use myself to project my thoughts and my feelings into my work using different colours and brush strokes and all that."

The young creative takes issues close to his heart, putting them in a different context to give them new meaning.

DUMA MTIMKULU CERAMICS DESIGNER "Initially when I started this series, the dinner ware series which I call Domestic Series was actually to pay homage to the women that raised kids on their own like myself. I was raised by a single mother so it was actually paying homage and acknowledging that and sort of appreciating the way that I was raised and in so doing I know that I was actually talking on the issue of being raised by a single parent and also the fact that there's many of us it's not only me alone. I'm talking about experiences which also reflect the experiences of the society."

YOLISA NJAMELA JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA "Mtimkulu promotes art in his community by helping children gain skills in ceramics, and give them a better shot at a successful future."

In the future, Mtimkulu is hoping to exhibit across the continent and collaborate with other artists to get his message out there. Yolisa Njamela, CGTN, Johannesburg, South Africa.