Materia Prima
Dilettante presents Materia Prima, a ceramic exhibition featuring ten West Australian artists, each with a diverse style and multidisciplinary approach. Materia Prima enhances the importance of prime material in the creative process, unfolding into a variety of shapes, textures and colours. With a holistic and cross disciplinary vision, the exhibition pushes boundaries between art, craft, design and fashion, creating a world where these practices intertwine, echo and compliment each other.
Each artist is pictured with a selection of their work which will be available for purchase in store at Dilettante from the 26th November until the 24th of December.
We spoke with the artists about their distinctive methods and individual artistic processes.
Emma Lindegaard
Your practice is infused with scenographic elements achieved through the combination of ceramics, food styling, and conviviality. How do these elements mutually influence and inform one another?
The foundation of my practice, no matter what medium I’m working with, has always been a way to pay homage to the natural world’s silent wisdom. My styling work is led by the harmonious play between colour, texture & composition; often sourcing found materials to ignite each project. My ceramic work is a way to explore these elements through a malleable medium, playing with form and textural surface finishes to create a tactile response. Spontaneity, intuition and experimentation are always at the forefront of my process, trusting what’s coming to the surface for me at the time. My hope is that my work creates stillness and ease, reassuring us of our connected place here.
Emma wears the Brown Velvet Lobster Dress by Rick Owens and Onyx Dream Collar by Sophie Buhai.
Mayma Awaida of Silver Prncss Studio
Your style is both decorative and conceptual, taking the viewer on a sensory journey that indirectly addresses themes such as time, antiquity, ancestral memories, and the unfinished. Could you elaborate on the inspiration behind the worlds you depict?
I consider my ceramic practice to be complementary to my work as an Arts Manager, the latter of which can often be heavily delivery-focused. Time has a different meaning when I am working with clay and I have had to become very comfortable with it not always being on my terms. The medium itself demands a particular level of attention, nurture, and slowness which in a sculptural sense translates to pieces that demonstrate the physicality of being hand-built. I'm also conscious that the way I make and respond to work is heavily influenced by my lived experience of migration. As I consider my own feelings of displacement, I'd like to think that my work strikes a similar aesthetic balance between fantasy and the familiar. Each piece is intended to resemble a form which invites play and curiosity, while alluding to deep ancestral memory.
Mayma wears the Grey Brown Khloe Jacket by Uma Wang. Dark Grey V-Neck Longsleeve T-Shirt. and Grey Barrel Flower Skirt by Marc Le Bihan. Swarovski Jet Rhinestone Necklace by Jean-François Mimilla.
Lauren Jane Salt of Volim
You create with a holistic and oneiric vision. The shapes of your pieces are challenging to define in a traditional ceramic sense, coupled with unique color combinations. Through your multidisciplinary label VOLIM, mediums of clay, plants, and textiles coexist. Could you elaborate on how these themes inspire your art?
I began in floristry drawing inspiration from practices such as ikebana. In these practices the form of the materials lead the direction of the work. I guess you could say I experience clay in a similar way - especially with my sculptures. Sometimes I may feel forms bubbling from within when beginning a work, then later find myself at the whim and guidance of the clays movement ending up with a completely different composition than anticipated. These are some of the many joys I find in working with clay.
Lauren wears the Comme des Garçons Black Wool Collared Jacket, Black Jacquard Trousers and Black Circle Detail T-Shirt with the MM6 x Salomon Black ACS Pro Sneakers.
Victoria Paxton
Your work blends fluidity, femininity, and strength with an organic element. What attracts you to this particular aesthetic?
We are living in such a fast pace world at the moment, everything is goal oriented, focused, strong, structured, logical and driven. I think my soul is searching for slowing down, observe the nature and create from my heart. The flow of my pieces cannot always be predicted or explained with a rational mind, as it aspires to generate an emotional connection. Also, living close to nature helps with creativity. I get inspired observing its beauty everyday which often leads to new projects. Observing flowers/leaves just simply taking everything from Mother Nature.
Victoria wears the Ivory Patchwork Jacket and Ivory Slim Pants by Pas de Calais.
Golnaz Ganjian of Zzen Studio
As a florist and ceramist, your craft intertwines nature, rawness, and imperfection. How do you interpret ceramics through these elements?
As a ceramist inspired by nature, I infuse my craft with the organic essence of the natural world. I often incorporate textures, colours, and forms reminiscent of elements like flowers, leaves, and landscapes into my ceramic pieces. The rawness and imperfection become central to my work, embracing the beauty of asymmetry, irregular shapes, and the natural variability inherent in clay and the creative process. This approach allows me to create pieces that capture the essence of nature while celebrating its imperfections and uniqueness.
Golnaz wears the Fog Ingrid Blouse and Fog Virginia Skirt by Jaga. Asymmetric Sandals by Cherevichkiotvichki. Brown Glass Bead Bracelet by Jean-François Mimilla.
Anika Kalotay and Serena Pangestu of Kura Studio
Your studio name derives from the Indonesian meaning of "tortoise." Is there significance to the name, and can you tell us how your background as architects influences your discipline as ceramists?
The word Kura is an ode to Serena's Indonesian heritage. Her culture and our experiences in travelling around rural Indonesia is a source of great inspiration for us. Symbolically, a tortoise serves as a reminder to ourselves that life is precious and that we should move at a steady but progressive pace, making sure to stay curious about our surroundings and to enjoy the little moments in day-to-day life. Our architectural backgrounds laid the foundations in our passion for living and good design, influencing the way we make ceramics and the way our work takes physical form. Clay to us is a medium that we use to explore design, inspired by the essence of what a good home is to a person, a mug to a hand and a vase to a flower. These objects have the power to elevate the every day through good and thoughtful design.
Anika wears the off white mesh trim cardigan and light beige fine knit pleats pants by ME Issey Miyake and the light beige long sleeve top by Pleats Please Issey Miyake. Serena wears the Black Mesh Trim Cardigan and Black Classic Fine Knit Trouser by ME Issey Miyake.
Joana Partyka
Can you tell us about the process behind the selection of colours and rich textures for your ceramic work?
My approach to colour and texture in my work is largely the result of seeking to push the boundary of what’s considered beautiful and ugly, as well as always working to push myself outside of my own comfort zone. During the process of creating, I’m very much guided by an intangible gut feeling – I rarely have a clear vision for my pieces ahead of time. As such, my work is almost a catalogue of my life: an abundance of chaotic, colourful glazes is a glimpse into my turbulent inner life, an expression of boundless joy or the manifestation of rage at the world, while a restrained approach can reveal a state of sadness, hopelessness or contentment.
Joana wears the white patchwork long sleeve T-shirt dress and mint criss-cross ballerina shoes by Simone Rocha.
Naomi Kido of Do Pottery
Creating ceramic pieces with a sentimental approach, a nostalgic recreation of Japanese ceramic tradition and your hometown. Can you tell us how your heritage inspires your practice?
We appreciate the blessings of the four seasons and eat seasonal food. In the same way, we choose and use dishes according to food, season and purpose. A life style that nestle close to our seasonal daily life is what inspires the creation of our ceramics.
Naomi wears the off white lace long sleeve dress and Anaya dress by Uma Wang with the off white ribbed Nida bra by Baserange.
Beverley lles
Your unusual pieces evoke a connection to places, landscape, and the environment. Can you tell us how the search for unconventional materials is a key element in your creative practice?
I search for and use unconventional materials in my art practice for many reasons. Sometimes they help illustrate a conceptual point about the environment, for example, collecting and using materials from places on the Contaminated Sites Register. Often materials help me explore a place, as with the use of found brick fragments, which act as a record of the Midland area’s industrial history. Using found and local materials is a way to reduce my environmental footprint by reusing materials, reducing waste, reducing my use of commercially packaged and shipped materials, and rescuing industrial and construction waste. I find materials very evocative, and they can have an almost shamanistic quality. When I use these materials it triggers memories of the place and time I collected them.
Beverley wears the Song for the Mute brown shaggy sheer tank dress and black shaggy long sleeve shirt.
Sonja Danilovic of Sole Ceramics
Your minimalist approach to colors and shapes informs a key element of your practice, as demonstrated in your cups, which are functional yet conceptual pieces. Can you tell us why you pursued ceramics with this vision?
It's a pretty humble beginning, we were opening a little cafe with our friend Helen, I was looking for handmade cups but couldn't find any here that are minimal and understated so I optimistically grabbed a bag of clay and started hand building cups, they were kind of ok, but a bit too organic looking, so I got a second hand wheel, and started to learn to throw, it is a lot harder than it looks. That was maybe 6 years ago, and the cups keep evolving. I think the style or essence is similar, understated with a little bit of surprise, like the chunk cups for those big cups of tea, or a cold brew that you drink the whole day.
Sonja wears the MM6 Maison Margiela layered shirt dress.
Curated by Vanessa Trento. Materia Prima is showing in-store until 24th December at Dilettante.
All artworks are available for purchase by contacting sales@dilettante.net or by visiting us at 4 Bay View Terrace, Claremont.