2018
Déshabillé, series 4
Porcelain and glaze
Unique pieces
Déshabillé is a material-driven concept that responds to the transformative properties of glaze to develop vases that are artifacts rather than functional.
The project presents itself with a numbered edition of vases with coloured glaze flowing off the surface of the clay to create a delicate lace-like volume that exposes the bare white porcelain body.
Investigating the intimate and integral relationship of glaze to a clay body Julie & Jesse formulated a technique to freeze the moment when glaze becomes malleable in firing and a way to make it drift off the shape rather than conform to it.
“We wanted to explore how glaze can become a design attribute that goes beyond the surface serving as decoration and seal. The work exists as a memory, capturing an instant when the glaze moves and fluctuates in firing like a dress would twirl or a sleeve drop to expose bare skin.”
With this experiment Julie & Jesse built a design language that is intimate and tactile drawing comparisons between a vase and a human body. They explore vessels as bodies and glaze as clothing and inject the work with a form of animism.
Words: Julie Progin
Photography: Ricky Wan