Domestic Totems 2021
What if when not in use our tableware sets could become sculptural decorative elements for our home, instead of being hidden away in a cupboard?
Domestic Totems is series of sculptural tableware, a set of“modular” pieces that, when assembled together, function as sculptural decorative elements. At the same time, when taken apart, they can be used as a tableware set, for daily use (cups, jugs, plates, vases…).
This collection wants to rediscover tableware as the centre of our personal as well as collective rituals: a series functional sculptures which remind us of the importance of treasuring mindful daily rituals, being it your first coffee in the morning or indulging yourself with a special snack, let’s celebrate it as an art.
Domestic Totems started during my residency at Numeroventi in Florence in 2021 and is an ongoing project.
Domestic Totems arises from a fascination for ceramics as catalysts of daily rituals in the home. I see ceramics as ritual tools, objects that on the one hand accompany our daily routine and on the other embed deep meanings, cultural significance and longstanding tradition. In my practice I like to investigate the tension between functional and sculptural, turning pottery into symbols, yet with a strong material presence.
‘Ceramics is older than the Bible and Jesus Christ, older than all poetry ever written, older than goats and cats, older than houses or metal’. - Ettore Sottsass
My work is certainly influenced by Ettore Sottsass' words and work. He approached all objects, particularly those in ceramics, as totemic items, primal forms with a symbolic charge.
Material details
WHEEL THROWN
FIRED AT STONEWARE TEMPERATURE
Material - warm white clay, milk glossy glaze