Caitlin Decierdo

Each vessel is moulded through a hand-building process of pinching and pressing clay coils of both terracotta and stoneware to form organic, concave, bulbous shapes; fashioned to mirror the lines of the natural landscape which is constantly in flux. The irregular, wiggly handles shaped to reflect the flow of water also allude to the distortion involved during melting, evocative of global warming. Intricate clay chains hang from the vessels, emphasising both the fragility of human behaviours surrounding environmental stewardship and the unwavering, ignorant mentality against more sustainable change. The clay form in its entirety serves as a model of the earth, whose surface bears witness to the human-induced pollution of a once pure planet.

With layers of non-toxic spray paint, the blend of neon colours accentuates the artificiality of waste and how it blankets the natural landscape. The very act in graffitiing the vessels is implicative of urban living and vandalism, akin to pollution.

Littered with both reducted and distorted sgraffito company logos, ones whose brand greenwash themselves, these serve to reflect on the damage such large corporations have on the earth. Such as the companies pollute the vessel’s surface, so they do to the environment.

Made with air-dry clay and without glazing, this eliminates the need for firing and mediates the process of high energy consumption and harmful emissions. Chain Reaction is hence a zero-waste project whereby all the vessels could be broken back down and return to the earth in their natural form.