Domestic Clay

A collection of earthenware cups, that questions the delicate system of supply and demand during a crisis. The project reflects upon the lack of material intelligence of how things are made, where they come from, and how they reach us.

The Covid-19 pandemic caught us by surprise and the supply of goods became spare as the lockdown regulations became more strict. The project suggests an alternative to outsourcing by relying on traditional and archaic means of production.

Starting from an analysis of local material resources and crafts specific to where I am living, I explored the process of how Terracotta is made and produced. The process is self-taught without prior knowledge of how clay is made and formed.

The clay is sourced from the backyard of a farmhouse in Italy and from an abandoned quarry. The soil is processed with common tools and objects, filtered, and sun-dried. The cups are pressed by hand in plaster molds and pit fired with wood.

Exhibitions
· (Un)finished — Brompton Design District, LDF,  September 2020
· RCA2020 — Royal College of Art, July 2020
Summer 2020