Portfolio of sculptural ceramic works: 'journey series...'

Background: Inspired by the concept of journey, this research investigates and questions the contemporary notion of what constitutes a vessel: the form of the vessel, the space inside the vessel and the space the vessel occupies. This portfolio of works sits in a liminal space described by French philosopher Maurice Merlou-Ponty as objects caught in a kind of suspense between what was and what will be. They were made as a response to what we were seeing and hearing on global media. Referencing mass migration and disaster. Contribution: In the past 10 years, the concept of the vessel has had a renewed role and interpretation. Edmund de Waal (English Ceramicist) has taken the domestic vessel and changed its status purely by recontextualising and examining its placement. This portfolio questions form, materiality, use and perceived status of what is and can be a vessel. The works contribute to the contemporary ceramic art field both conceptually and technically. The works are innovative in material use as it challenges the traditional use of clay by expanding the parameters of the vessel and notions of space in terms of (de) limiting forms which bring into question its own spatial parameters and the space it expands and inhabits. Significance: The works from this portfolio contribute to the contemporary ceramic art field at a national and international level. Individual works have been selected and curated into national and international exhibitions and selected as finalist in national and international awards: - ‘One summer…’ was a finalist in the Deakin University Small Sculpture Award (2019) - ‘Journey’ series was shortlisted for the North Queensland Ceramic Awards (2020), a curated biennial award exhibition; finalist in the National Small Sculpture Awards (2020), McClelland Sculpture Park + Gallery; and exhibited at the Australian Ceramics Triennale Conference (2019) - ‘Domestic harmony’ series was short-listed for the North Queensland Ceramic Award (2018)