INDIAN CERAMICS TRIENNALE, BREAKING GROUND 2018 by indianceramicstriennale

COVER IMAGE Detail from Guardian of Nature- Gatekeeper by Jae Joon Lee

Contents 01

Foreword

Curatorial Perspective

Breaking the Mold

Artist Projects

Collateral Exhibition | Kripal singh Shekhawat;

Artist, Muralist and Revivalist

100 Book Launch: Building with Fire by Ray Meeker 101 Films 102 Symposium | Setting The Ground 103 Symposium | Abstracts 113 Masterclasses 114 Arts for All. Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workshops 120 Critical Writing workshop 121 Artist Biographies 130 Supporters and Friends 131 Acknowledgements 132 Core Team and Partners 134 Office of the Director General Back Inside page: Exhibit Plan

Contents 01

Foreword

Curatorial Perspective

Breaking the Mold

Artist Projects

Collateral Exhibition | Kripal singh Shekhawat;

Artist, Muralist and Revivalist

CURATORIAL PERSPECTIVE FOREWORD Jawahar Kala Kendra is excited to pioneer India’s first ever ceramics triennale. While clay is an ancient material that shapes our understanding of civilisations, ceramics as an art form is relatively new worldwide. In India contemporary explorations in ceramics are gradually emerging and this inaugural Triennale is aptly titled Breaking Ground. An ambitious first, the Triennale has been curated by the Contemporary Clay Foundation, which is an artist-driven initiative. With over forty-seven artist projects, the Triennale is an exploration of clay’s versatility in both scale and materiality. It showcases both experimental and experiential art, ranging from raw, unfired clay manifestations to interactions with digital technologies. The architecture of JKK has made possible large site-specific installations and performative art works lending a unique tenor to the Triennale. Jawahar Kala Kendra is also delighted to collaborate with DAG, to commission a collateral exhibition on the lifework of Jaipur’s Kripal Singh Shekhawat, who was not only an accomplished painter and muralist, but was also responsible for the revival of Jaipur Blue Pottery. Curated by artist and scholar Kristine Michael, this small but meticulously researched exhibition is a testimony to the richness of India’s tradition, but equally to the role of the studio artist in giving a contemporary voice to the genre of studio pottery. It is hoped that this Triennale will help reimagine the transformative magic of clay for the people of Jaipur and those visiting our city. POOJA SOOD Director General Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur

An ongoing and quietly robust movement in contemporary ceramics in India has been gathering momentum in recent years. The increasingly diverse and sophisticated use of clay as a contemporary vehicle of expression shares space with, and sometimes references traditional uses of clay, from village pottery, to architectural material and ritual art. Artists are working with this material in multiple ways, pushing boundaries, and incorporating the use of technology and other materials in their practice. The need to represent the versatility of practices in a broader contemporary context has become imperative. While research and methodologies have developed, fora in which to exhibit new work have been few, pushing practitioners to explore alternate spaces and navigate dual roles as artists and curators. In this context, the collaboration with the Jawahar Kala Kendra could not have come at a more opportune time. The creation of a platform for the recurring presentation of contemporary ceramics aims to enable various experimental and experiential clay-based practices. It opens up opportunities for Indian artists to showcase their work, and for new national and international networks and exchanges. Audiences will be able to engage with an ancient material in vital new ways. Through the symposium programme, it hopes to facilitate scholarly and critical conversations around the medium. The projects exhibited at the Triennale represent a broad and diverse exploration by artists engaged equally with materiality and thought. Each artist project is the presentation of a single idea; the unique architectural spaces of the venue allowing for a rare opportunity to explore scale and site specificity, through installation, interaction, technology and performance. Breaking Ground is at once laboratory, playground and stage.

ANJANI KHANNA | MADHVI SUBRAHMANIAN | NEHA KUDCHADKAR REYAZ BADARUDDIN | SHARBANI DAS GUPTA | VINEET KACKER

BREAKING THE MOLD Primordial and ubiquitous, earth, dirt and clay speak to the very core of our beings and can spark our most fundamental creative energies. Some of the earliest man-made objects known are made from clay and fragments of functional pottery found at archeological sites are decisive evidence as to the levels of development of the people who lived there. The earliest ceramic shards found in the Indian subcontinent hail from the Sothi Siswal Culture, named for two sites straddling the present-day states of Rajasthan and Haryana, respectively. Attributed to the Chalcolithic, or Copper, Age, these ceramic vessels may have been created and used as early as 4600 BCE. We are well acquainted with the sophistication of figurative sculptures made of clay from the Harappan Civilization of the Indus Valley (dating from approximately 3000 to 2000 BCE), where fired clay was also used extensively in the construction of cities. Clay and its manipulation seem to be at the very heart of the development of human consciousness. With the rise of digital art forms in the past two decades, those guided by photographic and computerized methods and designed for instantaneous mass distribution, we have seen a parallel movement towards the appreciation of the artisanal, the handmade, the slow, and the intimate. As more of our information and communication becomes purely visual and aural, our brains crave to also indulge the senses of taste, touch and smell. This is true of both the creators and the audience. For every artist exploring Artificial Intelligence and digital coding to create art, there is another who is happy to indulge in the meditative maneuvers of carving stone or wood, or to feel the caress of wet clay as it is pummeled and cajoled. In 2016, a small group of artists who work primarily in ceramics came together to hypothesize an exhibition. What if the breadth of practices involving ceramics today could be presented as an Indian Ceramics Triennale, highlighting those who are expanding our conceptions of an ancient medium claiming its place in the future? Their conscious focus was to move away from the notions of Studio Pottery and functional ceramics, allowing artists working with clay to explore hybridity, diversity, and discovery, at the same time enabling a very loose definition of ceramics to be operative.

By PETER NAGY

Long relegated to the status of second-class citizen in the world of art, in the 21st Century ceramics has taken on a renewed urgency and relevancy in international contemporary artistic practice. Beginning in the 1970s, Post-Modernism initiated the eroding of boundaries between the established parameters of art, with painters, sculptors and architects taking interest in the Decorative and Applied Arts, for reasons both political and fashionable. With the turn of the millennium, arguably all of the hierarchical distinctions between artistic mediums and categories have been erased and we witness an orgy of cross-pollinizations. The globalization of the contemporary art world, facilitated by biennials, art fairs and the internet, renders moot previously-held prejudices between geographies, histories and cultural lineages, opening up further avenues for discovery, conversation and research. These developments enable us to elevate artistic mediums such as ceramics, textiles, furniture and metalwork, formerly defined as Crafts, on to the platforms previously reserved for Painting and Sculpture. Marxism, Feminism, Queer Theory and Subaltern Studies also contribute to these radical transformations of artistic categorization we have witnessed in the past thirty years within both institutions and the marketplace. The Indian Ceramics Triennale sought to exploit these developments, allowing for anyone using clay, dirt, or earth to participate, especially when they were combining them with other materials and processes. This opened the door to exciting proposals for new works from artists who used ceramics as a sort of binding agent for objects made of other materials. Particularly impressive, in this regard, were works by Danijela Pivašević-Tenner, Partha Dasgupta, and Vishnu Kolleri, for whom clay acted as a skin or glue to fuse together disparate elements (found furniture in the case of Tenner and bamboo and sound equipment for Kolleri) or individual ceramic elements brought together into a display cabinet, its surfaces “painted” with clay slip (by Dasgupta). Others artists (specifically Rahul Kumar & Chetnaa, Reyaz Badaruddin, and Shalini Dam) addressed the space of painting more than sculpture, combining ceramic elements with other materials to make wall-mounted works of a successfully confused hybridity.

Seriality was an important aspect of Modernist sculpture in the Twentieth Century and ceramics lends itself to this continuing investigation. Whether made by hand or by using molds, multiple units of the same object can be easily produced, enabling slight variations in their production. In the works of Madhvi Subrahmanian, Hoshino Satoru, Ashwini Bhat, Antra Sinha, Ajay Kanwal, and Adil Writer, we see multiples of the same form repeated and combined to create large-scale installations, often with no arrangement permanently fixed and allowing for an infinite number of variations. These works flirt with the distinctions between hand-crafted and industrially produced forms, often eliciting a perceptual bewilderment on the part of the viewer. Similarly, Conceptualism, the end of the road of the Modernist lineage, has influenced the production of ceramic art. The work of the British artist Jane Perryman explores the idea of how materials are connected to specific sites, but also generate random patterns. In her work (Containing Time 2016), she traces the reception of found materials from photograph, to drawing, to the embellishment of exquisite bowls. Each bowl is labeled with the year when she found the materials included in its production, marking both time and space with a series of elegant gestures. On the opposite end of the pendulum’s swing, Decoration in all its extravagant glory is still the reason for many artists’ endeavors. Thukral & Tagra’s works, (Longing for Tomorrow) produced at the Meissen Porcelain Factory in Germany, turn standard vases from the archives of the 300-yearold manufacturer into futuristic sentinels, with gilded elements and painted surfaces that reference Indian miniature traditions. The wallwork by PR Daroz, (Weathered Rock after the Rain 2018), is a grid of pillow-like tiles, their surfaces punctured by shots of pigments, a tour de force of the control of glazes. Perhaps the winner of the most outrageously flamboyant work in this Triennale belongs to Priya Sundarvalli’s sculpture (Blossoming: Being all of Them, She Stands There 2018). On an ovoid frame made from fiberglass and steel the artist has attached literally thousands of ceramic flowers, both in full

bloom and as buds. This profusion of color is heightened by metallic and iridescent glazes, an alien garden that seems to have arrived from another planet. Mud bricks, of course, are one of the earliest building materials created by man. So it comes as no surprise that architecture and elements of construction would continue to entice artists working with ceramics. The list is long and includes Aarti Vir’s painted arches (Shadow Crossing 2018), the stupa-like kiln created on site by Jacques Kaufmann (To Purify Space 2018), Rakhee Kane’s walls of organic jalis (Shifting Identities 2018), the surrealistic building models of Saraswati Renata (Antigravity 2018), and the brick maze that looks back at you by Sharbani Das Gupta (X’ing Look Both Ways 2018). Most impressive was the contribution of the Korean artist Juree Kim who spent more than a month on site creating a finely detailed model of a 17th Century building from the Pink City of Jaipur (Evanescent Landscape – Svarglok 2018). Displayed on a customized table, the artist poured water into a “moat” surrounding her miniaturized architecture at the opening of the Triennale and over the course of the exhibition’s three months her work slowly melts into liquid, collapsing into ruin. One could even propose that the sculpture by Tallur LN (Man Exhibiting Holes 2018) is a model for a large-scale skyscraper in the shape of the artist’s own head, constructed as it is from terracotta hollow bricks and cement. Spread throughout the galleries and public spaces of the Jawahar Kala Kendra, the Indian Ceramic Triennale could have easily been interpreted as a show of cutting-edge sculpture and mixed-media art, had the C word not been in the title. Today, clay and ceramics are just one of an infinite number of materials artists have at their disposal, but one cannot deny the seductive qualities of clay and its unlimited potentiality. Surely the Triennale will now inspire many more artists to experiment with ceramics and its next iteration in three years’ time will certainly be a momentous event for the art world of India.

By PETER NAGY

AARTI VIR SHADOW CROSSING A threshold, by definition is that place in time or space that is on the cusp of change. Aarti Vir has long been fascinated by a concept of space that is neither inside nor out, yesterday nor tomorrow, here nor there. To Aarti, the threshold framed by a doorway, represents an interstice, a pause - a moment of stillness, holding within it the certainty of passage, the potential for transformation, epiphany, resurrection or dissolution. Shadow Crossing references the Indian myth of the tyrannical asura Hiranyakashipu, who cannot be destroyed by weapon, man or beast, nor during the day or night, nor indoors or outdoors. He meets his end when Narasimha, a half-man half- lion avatar of Vishnu dismembers him, with his claws, on a threshold, at dusk. Says Aarti, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Connecting all that is neither here nor there, is the threshold, where the transient transformative moment of the unexpected transpires and where all life is.â&#x20AC;? Shadow Crossing is a group of three life-size doorways. Visitors are invited to walk through each successive doorway and as they transit each threshold, reflect upon those intermediate spaces in life that we often pass through obliviously.

2018 Wood-fired terracotta with slips Size: Doorway 1 L X B X H 160 cm X 30cm X 213 cm Doorway 2 and 3 L X B X H 165 cm x 30 cm x 213 cm

ADIL WRITER A DESERTED BARCODE Adil Writer attributes his fascination for the stars and dark skies to his being born under the sign of Aries. He laments the growing loss of what he calls “the celestial companions of the night” in the artificially lit cities of today. In a recurring dream he sees himself painting a night sky in the midst of large sand dunes. Adil has enjoyed painting abstract landscapes since he was a child. As an established artist today, he has continued to incorporate painting with his pedestal-driven sculptural practice. For the Triennale, he chose to merge a recently explored idea of a larger-than-life size barcode with his dream of a night sky. Composed of a series paintings on five metre long canvases stretched around free-standing wooden frames, the six and a half feet high barcode utilises an assortment of unfired native clays and acrylic paints. He says, “with acrylics, it’s a what-you-see-is-what-you-get medium,” that frees him from the idiosyncrasies of a cone ten firing. Taking a cue from the thick crawling shino glazes he soda-fires at Mandala Pottery, Adil focused on conjuring an in-the-still-of-the-night, banjaric desert landscape. Thoughts of the threats of a changing climate at a biological, personal, cultural, microcosmic, and macrocosmic scale are embedded, although none may be overtly apparent to the viewer. 2016 Raw clay & acrylic on canvas Variable size: 200 cm x 47 cm x 15/23/46 cm

AJAY KANWAL FOOT MAT Ajay Kanwalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work is intentionally integrated with the environment, allowing it to merge and not be overtly noticeable. This chameleon-like aspect allows him to play with perception and preconception, questioning what is real and what isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. Though ceramics is perceived as a fragile medium, Foot Mat, consisting of more than 10,000 individual pieces of high-fired porcelain, attempts to break this perception. Viewers are invited to stand, walk or run on the Foot Mat which at first glance looks like rubber. According to the artist the audience reaction when they realise it is made of clay is rather interesting: they avoid stepping on it. Ajay explores and investigates illusion and reality in his work. For him illusion complements reality, and in understanding both, one approaches complete understanding. 2009 Porcelain Variable size

11 Supported by Mr. Hitesh Rana, Director, Sarjan Art Gallery, Vadodara

ANJANI KHANNA UNNAMED Here is fruit for the crows to pluck For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop Here is a strange and bitter crop Strange Fruit by Abel Meeropol Brought up in a privileged liberal household with traditional roots, Anjani Khanna like numerous others has had to confront the postcolonial dystopias created by a layered society in churn. Every morning, the newspaper screams another atrocity, another display of brute power. The daily onslaught almost ceases to outrage. Each bloodied page turned, another exhausting reminder of impotence? Of complicity? With no escape. Trying to confront and accommodate the apparent differences of gender, community, wealth, education and experience, Anjaniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work has alluded to a syncretic humanity. Her yalis - composite quasi human animal forms, point to a need to look beyond division. Disturbed by images of two young girls found hanging in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, in 2014, in what was then an unusual event, Anjani finds this has become increasingly commonplace. Newspapers with reportage of unnatural violent death collected from different parts of the country wallpaper the cell where the porcelain bodies hang. A cry for deliverance? 2018 Porcelain, rope, paper, paint Size: Each figure approx 125 cm x 50 cm x 30 cm

ANTRA SINHA COMMUNITIES The correlation between natural geometry and manmade objects, especially in architecture fascinates Antra Sinha. The beautiful hexagon, found in many forms of nature – beehives, interlocking basalt columns, the molecular structure of benzene and the geometry of snowflakes – is also a form that has inspired some great architecture. Having recently moved from India, Antra’s desire for a sense of belonging led her to explore beehives. To her, beehives mirrored two concerns common to humans – security and ambition. While the need for security drives the construction of structures built for safety and comfort, ambition drives people outward, taking them from their homes and into the unknown, which in turn makes ‘houses’ that evolve in form. Antra aspires to incorporate the subtle movement, the beauty, elegance and responsive nature of bees in this work. The hexagonal modules fit together seamlessly, symbolising community, continuity and shelter. She sees the bee shelters as an allegory for diversity in human cultures and expresses it through the use of varied hues of white, black and red, each representing outward differences yet elemental similarities. 2018 Stoneware, porcelain Size: 305 cm x 92 cm x 8 cm

ASHWINI BHAT & FORREST GANDER

In Collaboration COMPASS ROSE Compass Rose began as Ashwini Bhat’s engagement with Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, a book in which the protagonist, Marco Polo, describes in short lyrical paragraphs a string of cities, some real, some mythical. With support from a Howard Foundation Fellowship (for Sculpture), Compass Rose expanded into a multi-year collaboration with the American writer and translator, Forrest Gander. Sharing emphatically global perspectives and the determination that Western and so-called Third World artists must be seen on equal footing, the collaborators drew inspiration from Shang Dynasty oracle bone script, Germanic runes, Dongba pictographic glyphs, early Indian alphabets (with Aramaic sources), and proto-Phoenician alphabets (still visible in English writing). The clustered patterns of ceramic forms and words spark connections between topographical mapping and divination, burial sites and threnody, archeological excavations and passionate notes. Openness and connectivity are the salient themes. The installation provokes simultaneous expressions of shifting, interrelated human cultures. The longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates reference not only places where the artists worked together, but anyone’s palimpsest of memories of localities lived in or left behind. Perhaps more than anything, the collaboration invites an exploration of body and world, language and structure, human contacts that have taken place or are yet to come.

2015 Stoneware Variable size

ASHWINI BHAT & FORREST GANDER

2015 Stoneware Variable size

ASIM PAL EXISTENCE - NONEXISTENCE India’s independence from colonial rule came with the bitter price of partition. The fallout separated kith from kin and made strangers of families; their shared history now relegated to memory and their homes disconnected. “I am from a family whose ancestors belong to Bangladesh in undivided India; to a land of reminiscence, of childhood lullabies and endless pampering”, explains Asim Paul. In today’s India, Asim requires legal papers to visit Bangladesh. To him the need for papers to visit a place to which he and his ancestors belonged feels like a painful absurdity. The project features a series of totemic representations of souls, memories and people, strung through with barbed wire; a “grave yard translated into votive pillars”. In Asim’s mind the barbed wire has become a ‘death wire’, slicing ties, cutting through bonds and starving the spirit. His work is a cry from the heart, a yearning lament for lost memories and an entreaty for a less bleak future. 2018 Stoneware, bricks, iron Variable size

ATITA TAWARE LITTLE WINGS ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH Atita Taware creates ephemeral installations working with ceramics, digital video photography and found objects. Her work explores topics of biodiversity degradation, endemic and endangered species, land conversions, and questions on existence. The tenacity of hope drives the ability to achieve goals and fulfil dreams despite great odds. Hope is at the heart of Atita’s assemblage. A variety of elements and forms are employed; insect wings, plants, decaying legumes, married women’s ornaments, neon text, figurines of the Munia bird and visuals are placed within porcelain cages. They embody Atita’s quest to explore and learn about herself through the elements that have taught her about her life over the span of the past years. An element from her previous artwork Changes Within is placed inside one of the cages, symbolically questioning whether to share thoughts and ideas on self-development or, alternatively, to voluntarily withdraw from the outside world, confine oneself and disintegrate. 2018 Stoneware Variable size

Supported by INLAKS INDIA FOUNDATION

BENITHA PERCILYAL LET THEM OWN THEIR LAND Clay and other organic materials lie at the heart of Benitha Perciyal’s art practice. The medium’s physicality, its ability to decay and disintegrate allows Benitha to connect with her spiritual and philosophical interests. Recently encountered images of a child’s body washed ashore, farmers struggling to live, refugees displaced and homeless have deeply distressed her. “Isn’t it as if the sea itself rejected the child and the shore did not want his body either?” she asks. Though these images are from different geographies, to her they feel connected by “land and shifting consciousness”. The daily onslaught of painful images creates a weary numbness, yet the artist feels compelled to raise her voice. She points out, “The cry of the displaced and distressed is heard by none, as everyone is interested in holding on to their own land”. Through her work, Benitha is interested in raising the awareness of the social and environmental ecosystem in which we live, where the burden of responsibility of the distressed and displaced falls on all of us. She says, “When we restructure our views, we will see what connects us. Land”. 2018 Frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, clove, powdered clay, bark powder, lemongrass and cider wood essential oils, cloth, fire bricks, teak wood, palm seed, coconut coir rope, iron, cattle plow and water Variable size

BRITISH CERAMICS BIENNIAL MADE OUT OF PLACE Made Out of Place is a live project space, featuring work emanating from the experimental international artists’ exchange project Heart:Beat. This evocative installation, created for, and with the help of, the Indian Ceramics Triennale, is the result of a short residency within the workshop facility at the Ceramics Department of the Indian Institute of Craft and Design, Jaipur and the project space within the Jawahar Kala Kendra. During this residency, British Ceramics Biennial resident artist, Joanne Ayre, and Warli artists, Ramesh and Rasika Hengadi, supported by project creative director Barney Hare Duke, have worked collaboratively to devise, design and fabricate new work. Drawing on the shared experience of the Heart:Beat project, the installation includes raw materials, tiles, bricks, ceramic, moulds, working processes, objects and paintings, with film and sound. It includes work created off-site by the other UK-based, Heart:Beat project artists – Stephen Dixon (ceramicist), Jasleen Kaur (artist), Johnny Magee (filmmaker), Jason Singh (musician, sound artist). The works together constitute a body of work Made Out Of Place and gives impetus to the idea of developing local making, learning and exhibition spaces in both Bapugaon and Stoke-on-Trent where cultural production will continue to take place and be developed.

Supported by

2018 Bone china, parian, red and white earthenware, plaster, raw clay, brick, vinyl, canvas, sound, video and photography Variable sizes

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF CRAFT & DESIGN

Supported by

2018 Bone china, parian, red and white earthenware, plaster, raw clay, brick, vinyl, canvas, sound, video and photography Variable sizes

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF CRAFT & DESIGN

DANIJELA PIVAŠEVIĆ-TENNER DO YOU KNOW, WHAT’S BEHIND? The main focus is a room installation using local unfired red clay. Danijela PivaševićTenner works with local communities to collect objects of daily use and install them in a living room made of ordinary furniture. A liquid terracotta clay slip is then poured in successive layers, day by day, slowly revealing a new landscape hidden within ordinary, well-known objects. With this work Danijela raises questions about the value of daily objects and our relation to them. The use of unfired materials is a starting point for an exploration of our interaction with ceramics and porcelain. What role does it play in daily life and what are its ascribed historic values? What is the value when the function is removed? To Danijela, the transformation of the basic material to finished ceramic products subtracts from the natural beauty of the material and also destroys environments. Digging clay changes landscapes and firing processes have negative impacts and so Danijela chooses to use recyclable slipcasting clay or porcelain in her artwork. 2018 Found objects and raw clay. Variable sizes

Supported by

DIPALEE DAROZ RELICS OF FUTURE Dipalee Darozâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s project consists of multiple objects presented from varied perspectives. They elaborate an Indian worldview that is panoramic and pluralistic. She seeks to expand perception by engaging the tangible senses in a holistic manner, exploring the two-fold dimension of embodiment and perception within the contours of her works. The viewer and the viewed sculptures and wall installation are interconnected and seek a consonance between the tangible sensed and the intangible perceived. The sculptures are intuitively modeled, imaginative devices that measure perception and create an optical depth between the natural and the real through the use of texture, patina and form. The physical character of the objects is delineated through conscious manipulations of smoky, rusted surfaces that suggest ageing, cycles of time and alternate dimensions. They invite a multi-dimensional approach to both the objects and the activated space around them. Dipalee deliberately eschews known processes, releasing control and submitting to the accidental to make space for unexpected insight. 2018 Stoneware Variable sizes

ÉLODIE ALEXANDRE POST-PARTUM Post-partum explores episodes of the artist’s personal experience in connection to childbirth and post-partum depression. It evokes physical and emotional struggles, and a subsequent ongoing journey towards healing. Reflecting on a time of transition and vulnerability, it also allows for strength, recovery and acceptance to shine through. As a wall installation, the three-dimensional ceramic work is approached as a mappa mundi – a schematic, illustrated and subjective map which includes fragments of memories, feelings and reflections destined to outline the artist’s ‘known world’ and suggest possible ways of navigating through it. Viewers are invited to use their smartphones or tablets to scan a two-dimensional representation of the installation in order to uncover insights and intimate stories which act as extensions of the wall-based ceramic pieces. This interactive component invites viewers to delve deeper into the narrative; enriching the dialogue on a subject largely considered taboo. 2018 Terracotta, slips, underglaze and glaze Size: 330 cm x 200 cm

ESTER BECK MATTER IS A CENTER OF DREAMING (Gaston Bachelard) Matter is a Centre of Dreaming is a filmed performance piece in which Ester Beck works with 4.5 tons of clay, creating from the massive clay block an abstract vessel sculpture. She works with her whole body and improvised tools to form this piece in a total dynamic engagement with the clay as an equal; eye-to-eye. The video is shown in loop, as she dismantles the finished sculptural vessel and the action starts over. She says, “It is a perpetual, Sisyphean process, through which I express ideas reflecting my years of work in clay, and the thought that what I do extends beyond the creation of another object”. For Ester it is the act itself that carries the real meaning of what one does. The work is projected straight onto a wall, life size, to powerfully impact the spectator and draw them into the action. Ester also performs in the making of an abstract sculptural piece in situ in her signature expressive and very dynamic ‘action painting’ like way of working. The pieces are formed in one go, like a continuous brushstroke, from beginning to end within a relative short frame of time. 2016 Video (Photography and editing: Amichai Bikovski)

Supported by the Embassy of Israel

INGRID MURPHY SOUNDS OF THE CITY THE GRUMPY DOG I O TOUCH SPACE PLATES OF JAIPUR A DAY AT THE HUNT SELF PORTRAITS FROM ANOTHER TIME This body of work by Ingrid Murphy explores how new relationships can be formed between ceramic artefacts and technology. The work seeks to create an enhanced experience for the viewer by using a range of technological methods including physical computing and augmented reality. In Sounds of the Pink City discarded chai cups become touch sensors that access the ambient sounds recorded across the old city. Image recognition software enables dinner plates to be scanned with a smart device to reveal dynamic 360-degree views of the city and its landmarks. A QR enabled figure of a dog lets us follow his daily adventures in the real world, far from the confines of the museum or the mantelpiece. These pieces use a range of digital and manual making methods, which include 3D scanning, 3D printing, moulding and casting. This work also exploits the material characteristics of ceramics, such as the conductivity of gold lustre or the translucency of bone china, to help create new types of interactions or experiences for crafted objects. In I.O.Touch bespoke physical computing and Internet of Things technology is used to connect two hands across the world; when touched in Jaipur its partner hand illuminates in the UK.

2018 Sounds of the Pink City, SIZE: 90 cm x 120 cm x 20 cm Ceramic, sound, wood, electronics, lustre Self Portraits from Another Time, SIZE: 32 cm x 20 cm x 7 cm YEAR: 2018 Ceramic, lustre The Grumpy Dog SIZE: 17 cm x 11 cm x 8 cm YEAR: 2018 Ceramic, lustre and decal I.O. Touch SIZE: 33 cm X 12 cm X 7 cm YEAR: 2018 Ceramic, lustre, electronics MATERIAL: Ceramic, sound, wood, electronic, lustre and decal

JACQUES KAUFMANN TO PURIFY SPACE The inspiration for this project comes from the book Ceramic Houses, written by the US based Iranian architect Nader Khalili. Jacques Kaufmann read the book in 1988 after a two and half year project in Rwanda where he encountered multiple levels of ceramic activity, including ceramics at a landscape scale. The book, especially the chapter on glazing and firing earthen houses, caught his attention in the context of his recent experience in Rwanda. Jacques says that according to Khalili, it was a question of transferring the property of fired clay’s resistance to water (vitrification, in ceramic terminology) to a traditional architectural reality. He says, “the project To Purify Space in Jaipur is my first experimentation at real scale, to give life to this dream… of over thirty years ... a spiritual purification of space”. 2018 Brick, steel, fired clay and mirrors Size: 300 cm dia x 360 cm height

Supported by

JAE JOON LEE GUARDIAN OF NATURE – GATEKEEPER In this installation at the Triennale, Guardian of Nature – Gatekeeper, Jae Joon Lee presents two doorkeepers who protect an entrance; human and animal merging together. They reflect his lifelong belief in the equality of all living creatures, human or not. It is a theme he has focused on throughout his art practice, whether it is large-scale outdoor environmental works or street furniture in ceramics, or ceramics on building facades made in collaboration with architects. Jae Joon’s work, lies conceptually within fine art, but is married to the rigour and finesse of craft. Guardian of Nature – Gatekeepers symbolises the vital importance of harmony between human beings and nature. 2018 Stoneware clay and red art clay Size: 60 cm x 60 cm x 110 cm (each)

Supported by

JANE PERRYMAN & KEVIN FLANAGAN

In Collaboration

CONTAINING TIME Jane Perryman’s new body of work has transformed the vessel to become a record of time and place. Found objects are used to inspire text and poetry, photographed, and used to create frottage prints before incorporation with the clay body to become part of the vessel itself. Containing Time charts the evolution of Janes’s ceramics as she integrates the separate strands of her work in a new and interactive way, journeying into unknown territory and breaking new ground. It celebrates her connectivity with the natural world through chronicling the human condition. Encompassing a year’s sojourn, her ideas examine interlocking themes of materials, environment, time and journeys. Senses working in harmony, organic and holistic, her inspiration resonates with simple pleasures of daily life. The fifty-two resulting vessels, weekly journal entries, poems, photographs and frottages (of which a selection are shown at the Triennale) constitute a year-long cycle celebrating the vessel and life. Containing Time is a collaboration with composer Kevin Flanagan who has created an accompanying soundscape using sounds from both the ceramic bowls being struck and the local environment; structured from the 52 segmental time scale of the overall piece. 2016 - 2018 Ceramic, found materials, text, photography, frottage and sound Size: 100 cm x 200 cm

Supported by

JANE PERRYMAN & KEVIN FLANAGAN

In Collaboration

Supported by

JESSIKA EDGAR LET’S ALL BE ETHEREAL AND TRANSCEND Jessika Edgar’s research focuses on an exploration of representation through the idea of formlessness. This exploration is inspired by George Bataille’s concept of ‘l’informe’. Formlessness can be used to describe an object that is mobile or fluid enough to evade classification and meaning. The formless results in a blurring of categories and identification. She is interested in expanding this notion in relationship to socially constructed identity and value while referencing contemporary popular culture and mass media influences that propagate consumption. Drawing from media imagery especially related to gender, beauty, and material desire, her sculptures and installations aim to create a feeling of cognitive dissonance, a psychological space that is simultaneously critical and indulgent. 2018 White earthenware, earthenware with mica, glaze, sprayed rubber, iridescent glitter, Mod Podge, various rhinestones, spray paint, faux fur, fabric paint, MDF, stool Variable size

JUREE KIM EVANESCENT LANDSCAPE – SVARGLOK, JAIPUR Juree Kim’s practice studies disappearance and ephemerality. Her interest in old architecture dates back to old Korean buildings that were brought down to make way for buildings in glass and chrome. Her work comments on urbanisation and the erasure of history. In her practice, Juree carefully constructs old buildings in clay, and once dry, she exposes them to water where they meet their destiny of de-construction and disappearance. For the Indian Ceramics Triennale, Juree studied and researched multiple buildings in Jaipur, such as the Hawa Mahal, Amber fort, City Palace and some industrial areas. She was struck by the beautiful patterns and architectural structures as well as saddened by the pollution and environmental issues of the city. An 18th century Rajasthani miniature painting titled Svargalok that Juree came across at the City Palace museum inspired her current work. The painting depicts the heavenly abode of the Gods with detailed architectural elements such as chhatris, baggaldhaar roofs, jharokhas and arches. Juree draws from these sources to create her imagined city. Once the work is complete and dry, Juree pours water slowly into the base tray, allowing for the structure to collapse as it comes in contact with water. Juree says “As an artist, I cannot whatsoever, intervene in the process of the encounter between earth and water. It is the interactions between these two elements that creates my work”. 2018 Raw clay, water, video Variable size

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KATE MALONE

And the Balls Pond Studio THINKING HANDS Kate Malone and her team re-create in Jaipur her Balls Pond Studio from London, allowing visitors the opportunity to experience her practice and process in the most fulfilling way. The artist and her thought process become the installation. A ‘live’ studio allows Kate to produce work without compromising her method and staying true to a practice that has been refined over decades spent at the pinnacle of the international ceramics world. Community projects, short courses as well as an ability to shadow members of Kate’s team, will allow audiences to be part of her London studio experience. Accessibility is key to her vision and by working with the team she has built up over ten years her process will be illuminated, culminating in finished pieces that exemplify not only excellence of technique but best working practice in a unified and productive studio. In addition to the ‘live’ studio, Kate displays miniatures from her personal collection as well as works by Miray Mehmet, Anna Barlow and Mary O’Malley from the Balls Pond Studio for a limited period of the Triennale.

Kate Malone 1. Oak Acorn Baby Bud. 2. Basket Baby Bud. 3. Daisy Meadow Baby Bud 4. Seed Pod Baby Bud. T material stoneware clay with high alkaline frit crystalline glazes 12 cm x 12 cm each Mary O Malley Slug Pot Porcelain, stoneware Anna Barlow Porcelain Ice Cream Stoneware and earthenware temperatures Miray Mehemt 2018 B;ack Clay Bowl Stoneware, porcelain and crystalline glazes Variable sizes

KATE MALONE

MADHVI SUBRAHMANIAN

FOREST OF SHADOWS In her current work, Madhvi Subrahmanian reflects on the fluid interconnectedness of nature and urban culture. She brings conceptual and sensory experiences together in her installations, which are usually participatory and/or immersive in nature. Working in multiples and using repetition, Madhvi fosters a contemplative process in her practice. Her Window series is an abstract distillation of city structures and floor plans exploring the window as a key architectural component that facilitates sight and perspective. Juxtaposed against the Windows and reminiscent of Jaipur block printing, is a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;forest of shadowsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, created through form, material and the play of light and shadow. The shape-shifting shadows and the displacement of object by its shadow and vice versa, speaks to the temporality and transience of life and nature. 2018 Stoneware, light and shadow. Variable size, Back wall: 243 cm x 243 cm

MADHVI SUBRAHMANIAN

NEHA KUDCHADKAR Of sense and nonsense. A capitalist monster devouring land, devouring time. The embodiment of destruction, destitution, conflict, loss. But also, of brilliance, innovation, wonder, hope. A collector of dreams, of ambitions.” She asks if it was “ever just a settlement of people? A matter of convenience? A space of stability, of security. Home.” 2018 Glazed & unglazed terracotta, cement, plaster of paris, clay (artist’s body), digital paper prints, pencil and ink drawings, found (and altered) shards and sound. Variable size.

SOMETHINGPOLIS It may be that the city is not what we thought it was, or even that it has ceased to exist. Not that this would be a catastrophe because it is in the nature of things to be born, to grow and to die. Ramoneda J., A Philosophical Idea of the City, Yale University, 2003. Neha Kudchadkar investigates the hidden energies that give shape to conceptual edifices like a city. The work takes the form of object interventions across Jaipur, in dialogue with an archive of objects, drawings, and photo documentation in the gallery. These objects while redefining and reclaiming the city, negotiate notions of belonging/ exclusion and placement/displacement. Seeing the city as a living, breathing, growing entity, dually marked by movement and stagnation, she says it is a “documenter of stories and histories. Of mistakes and genius.

Supported by INLAKS INDIA FOUNDATION

NIDHI JALAN ASWATTHA There is a fig tree In ancient story, The giant Aswattha The everlasting, Rooted in heaven, Its branches earthward: Each of its leaves Is a song of the Vedas, And he who knows it knows all the Vedas.

Aswattha is inspired by a verse in the Bhagavad Gita, which refers to the inverted tree as a cosmic tree with its roots in the sky and its branches below. This work reflects the central themes of much of Nidhi Jalan’s work, which is based on interwoven cultures, the ease or unease of the transplant, and the fertile ground that makes for the birth of unusual and fantastical life forms. The piece is inspired also in part by Hieronymus Bosch, whose work she is greatly influenced by, specially Bosch’s view of the world, his manner of composing, and his visual language that is teeming with contrasts – virtue versus vice, the exalted alongside the obscene, the positive coexisting with the negative. 2018 Porcelain and upholstered wood base Size: 122 cm x 183 cm

Downward and upward Its branches bending Are fed by the gunas, The buds it puts forth Are the things of the senses, Roots it has also Reaching downward Into this world, The roots of man’s actions. What its form is, Its end and beginning, Its very nature, Can never be known here. From The Song of God: Bhagavad-Gita Translated by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood

P R DAROZ WEATHERED ROCK AFTER THE RAIN P R Daroz’s installation continues an exploration of the subject of his recent work. Volcanic eruptions, embedded fossilized forms, thawed surfaces create an enhanced haptic landscape seen from a bird’s eye view; the glazes melting, diffusing or gathering as per the dictates of centrifugal or centripetal forces. He says that the “… biosphere of rocks, plant and animal life interests me. Against the rugged, bruised textures of the rocks, the colours glisten with an ephemeral and transient glow of light. Memories of seascapes and coastal areas across the world suddenly blur and extend the reality of the moment into a seemingly infinite internalised experience.” The panels capture the depth and scale of this subterranean site and the mesmerising play of light creates an immersive experience. A natural variance occurs when a simple procedure is repeated over and over, lending itself to units that can be constructed or deconstructed to create ever new forms. They dissolve into a mural, the mural shifts into an architectural complex and finally into an architectonic configuration, revealing the flow of an inherent life force. The work expresses Daroz’s quest and zest for life - a flow and continuity defined and refined by silences. 2018 Stoneware Size: 244 cm x 457 cm

PARTHA DASGUPTA RECOLLECTION OF A MANUSCRIPT Partha Dasgupta describes Recollection of a Manuscript as a simple mathematical expression of vertical and horizontal planes. The artist explores differing ground level dimensions generated through vertical and horizontal multiples. The installation is derived directly from his experience in fabricating the public space of the pandals of Durga Puja in Kolkata. He consciously carries his technical and conceptual expertise back and forth between his private studio and his public pandal design. For Partha, the term ‘sculpture’ has become inadequate in discussions of contemporary art. In his studio practice he explores painting as a three-dimensional space where painting becomes an object, with physicality and spatial space. He considers his installation as reinterpreting painting into an ‘expanded field’, more as a mode of representation than as an object. 2018 Ceramics, wood boards, iron fittings Size: 183 cm x 183 cm x 61 cm

PRIYA SUNDARAVALLI

BLOSSOMING - BEING ALL OF THEM SHE STANDS THERE Priya Sundaravalli’s studio practice is a spiritual quest, where she allows her forms, through rhythm and multiplicity, to express the poetic and organic beauty of nature. Her large sculpture Blossoming - Being all of them She stands there is crafted from eight fibre glass discs and connecting membranes, whose entire surface is covered with more than 3,000 ceramic flowers and tesserae. She draws her inspiration from Thiruvaimozhi, a collection of Tamil hymns by the 9th century Alvar saint, Nammalvar. One of these hymns praises the Divine: “this man, that woman, and these things… being all of them, He stands there”. 2018 Ceramic, fibreglass and steel Size: 300 cm x 300 cm x 240 cm (height)

PRIYA SUNDARAVALLI

RAHUL KUMAR & CHETNAA

In Collaboration

TERRAGEOMETRIX Rahul Kumar and Chetnaa’s personal artistic sensibilities are reflected in their collaboration. Inspired by their urban surroundings, the large monochromatic installation is made up of 220 textured discshaped components of variable size, heights and angles. The jaali (screen) element with gold and blue accents references a lost heritage and contrasts it with modern rigidity. Overlaid on the installation is an abstract impression of a city grid. Map-like imagery in conjunction with organic and jaali elements create compositions that are both familiar and strange at the same time. 2018 Stoneware, coloured pigments, 24 carat gold Size: 220 clay components mounted on wood platform of 335 cm x 274 cm x 15 cm

RAHUL KUMAR & CHETNAA

In Collaboration

RAKHEE KANE SHIFTING IDENTITIES Rakhee Kane’s installation is based on the universal and timeless beauty of screens or jaalis, a traditional symbol of privacy and a link that connects the inside to the outside. Seen in several mediums such as stone, wood, clay and other crafts, jaalis are embedded in the architectural and cultural language of India. Rakhee’s inspiration is drawn from its architectural use in palatial complexes, small dwellings, religious monuments and humble shrines. The play of light, shadows and patterns gives the jaali a universal appeal. She is interested in the ability of a fenestrated form to transcend cultures. In her methodology, the artist has approached this project through a series of three-dimensional studies in fired and unfired clay and with a variety of glazing and firing styles. For Rakhee, the jaali is a celebration of the versatility of form, synonymous with interconnectedness and transparency. Her jaalis combine a sense of enclosure and opening, allowing the light of the sun to cast multiple and dancing shadows on the rammed earth wall. 2018 Stoneware, metal frame and rammed earth Size: Jaali wall 274 cm x 274 cm, 274 cm x 122 cm Size: Rammed earth wall 290 cm x 152 cm

RAMESH MARIO NITHIYENDRAN SELF – PORTRAIT PLATES Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran creates roughedged, vibrant, new-age idols that are at once enticing and disquieting. Politics of sex, gender and organised religion are some of the issues that find a voice in his works. His raw and edgy sculptures bring attention to the symbolism of clay as a fundamental corporeal matter. Formally trained in painting and drawing, his practice has a sculptural emphasis which focuses on materiality and the physicality of art making. Although primarily an atheist, Ramesh draws upon his Hindu and Christian heritage as well as a wide range of sources including the internet, pornography, fashion and art history. Self-portraits appear frequently in his work and the dual presence of male and female organs suggest gender fluidity and new possibilities.

2018 Glaze and lustre on bisque plates 27 cm diameter

RAY MEEKER RIO STELA. AMERICA FIRST! The Rio Stela commemorates the US position on climate change at the Rio conference in 1992 and the current agenda of the new US administration. Back to the future? This will probably be Ray Meeker’s last in a series of environmental pieces, a project that dates back to 1969 when he was an undergraduate in ceramics at the University of Southern California. “But every time I try to walk away from the issue, it just gets bigger,” he says. He returned to this theme in 2001 showing Kurukshetra with Nature Morte, followed by Kyoto Protocol and Hegemony in 2004, Ozymandias and Double Helix in 2008, Passage at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Chennai in 2011 and the Eye of the Needle series in 2014. He says, “It is possible to clean up this act”. In the 1970s California imposed strict emission standards on motor vehicles. Los Angeles still has smoggy days, but fewer and less dangerous. So, a choice can change priorities — or not. Stoneware Size: Base 91 cm x 56 cm Height 284 cm

REYAZ BADARUDDIN

STILL LIFE With Still Life, Reyaz Badaruddin investigates the relationship between ceramic objects and their representation in paintings. Coming from the perspective of the ceramics artist, Reyaz is fascinated by the way a simple three-dimensional ceramic object becomes a component of a still life painting and thus is given importance. Frozen in space, the everyday object becomes timeless. In this body of work, Reyaz has experimented with both two and three dimensions through the process of working with clay and canvas side by side. Using composition and presenting them differently in the same physical space he encourages the viewer to rethink the relationship with the given objects. The chosen three-dimensional ceramic objects are wheel-thrown, their shape selected for their iconic contemporary look. They are stereotypical representations of functional ceramic objects becoming the canvas themselves with which the viewers can establish their own relationship. 2018 Porcelain, terracotta, wood, and acrylic on canvas Size: 457 cm x 122 cm

REYAZ BADARUDDIN

SARASWATI RENATA SEREDA ANTI-GRAVITY The group of porcelain objects in this installation “could be seen as houses or as humans,” explains the artist. The anthropomorphic forms with their unique curves and intricate details, represent for the artist the solitary nature of human life and experience. The use of porcelain highlights a sense of fragility, while retaining a sense of playfulness at the same time. The joy of making is evident in Saraswati’s whimsical forms and lyrical lines. They contain random found objects, often collected from daily life and translated into porcelain. The architecture-inspired objects have a humanoid quality to them however, with no straight lines or geometrically accurate angles. The delicate balance of the objects placed inside these forms, is revealing of a deep relationship and interdependence of one to the other. In her studio process, Saraswati carefully constructs each section of the structure, juxtaposing the various forms and playing with contrasting qualities of heavy, light, hard, soft, round and square. 2018 Porcelain Size: 200 cm x 70 cm x 50 cm

SATORU HOSHINO BEGINNING FORM - SPIRAL Satoru Hoshino’s work is process driven. His installation, made of multiples, emerges from a “collision” of clay and hand. The form holds the mark of his hand and brings out the inner life of the clay at the point of interaction. After a natural disaster, a landslide in 1986, clay became more than a just material, containing within it the rhythms of nature and time itself. It is the clay’s ability to hold memory, such as the embedded fingerprint, that inspires Satoru’s practice. The artist considers his interaction with clay to be collaborative, and not an imposition of his own will. He writes eloquently on his process for Ceramics: Art and Perception, explaining that “I engage in a dialogue with the clay as it sits in front of me, as a soft, flexible lump of matter. This dialogue is carried out through a form of body language: the primitive action of pressing parts of my body (my fingers) against the body of the clay…” Primarily motivated by his rhythmic process, Satoru feels that through his material and creative process he gains a connection to the universe. 2018 Earthenware Variable size

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SAVIA MAHAJAN

LIMINAL OCCURANCE Expanding on her recent body of work created in porcelain and paper fibres, Savia Mahajan articulates in the form of thought, shape and object; an inquiry of the in-between state of life and death, sleep and wakefulness, freezing and thawing, grief and healing. A state that is transitional, subconscious and suspended, known as the liminal state. Creating an atmosphere that evokes the flickering perception of a phenomenon, these â&#x20AC;&#x153;ghost-white frozenâ&#x20AC;? objects emit a hint of residual colour and pose as transitional entities; passing the viewer through an ambiguous realm that has few or none of the attributes of the past or the coming state. 2018 Porcelain and paper fibres Variable size

SAVIA MAHAJAN

SHALINI DAM NOT EVERYONE WILL DANCE IN THE RAIN Shalini Dam uses her piece to explore contradictions and dualities hidden under the surface. By manipulating the surface of clay, she creates an optical illusion that animates the surface. As the viewer walks across the work or around it, the image changes, making the viewerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engagement and interaction integral to the artwork. For Breaking Ground 2018, Shalini explores the narrative around Water â&#x20AC;&#x201C; particularly its accessibility. Who gets a share of this natural resource and who is denied? The installation references the ancient step-wells that were indigenous to the Subcontinent and draws inspiration from one of the most documented and photographed step-wells, not far from the city of Jaipur, the Chand Baoli of Abaneri. Interestingly, the architecture of Jawahar Kala Kendra also references these architectural elements in the design of its courtyard. 2018 Terracotta Size: 147 cm x 231 cm x 2.5 cm and 140 cm x 140 cm x 61 cm

SHAMPA SHAH PRITHVI SUKTA: HYMN FOR PLANET EARTH The experience of the oneness of things articulated in clay, has been the inspiration for this project. Undefined forms that reference animals, plants, human beings, a bowl, a pitcher, rocks and mountains - all come together. These living and non-living mutating forms are in a continuous flux, magically metamorphosing into one another; the polarities of organic/inorganic, manmade/natural, realist/abstract, all break free from their restive, constricting boundaries to flow into one another. It is a vision of the Earth as a sacred space where everything is connected. One enters the mythic logic of a world, forever young and at the beginning of everything; an eternal jubilation of being that continuously alternates with a transient becoming. To enter the spirit of the mountain and forest here is to enter the realm of ancestors, to become a part of the landscape. 2018 Stoneware and iron Variable size. Height 13 cm to 213 cm

SHARBANI DAS GUPTA

X’ING? LOOK BOTH WAYS In recent years, Sharbani Das Gupta’s work has become more experiential in nature, using subtly altered relationships to question perception. In 2013, at a residency in China, she was struck by the dual nature of curiosity and wariness between the two neighbouring countries. They made her think of a wall of eyes that both revealed and obscured. In 2016, in Israel while participating in the residency Post-colonialism?, she was confronted by another border wall, with its legacy of settlement and dispossession. Now, in 2018, at her home in New Mexico, the concrete walls of division draw near, while virtual walls of suspicion surround and separate. In X’ing? Look Both Ways, Sharbani explores the distortion of perception created by walls. A brick maze is embedded with a succession of porcelain eyes, the pupils made of lenses recovered from dismantling obsolete televisions that the artist, mechanic’s bag in hand, scoured the countryside for. The stories of the people she met and the knowledge that these lenses were once used for projection is buried in the DNA of the work. Looking through the lenses inverts everything on the other side- a window into the mind’s eye, or a question on the reality of perception? 2018 Brick, porcelain, glass lenses, raw clay Site specific size. Max wall height 215 cm

SHARBANI DAS GUPTA

SHIRLEY BHATNAGAR THE BROKEN PROMISED The Broken Promised, a tongue-in-cheek work by Shirley Bhatnagar, uses humour to address serious concerns. In this installation her dinner table is beautifully laden with teapots, soup tureens and larger than life tableware, which are all in fact quite unusable. A large imposing teapot seated on a pedestal has a drooping spout negating its main function and a gilded plate with roses metamorphoses into a thorny creeper. Spoons and forks with spikes make no sense while flimsy handles are defunct. The artist uses ceramics for its ability to easily take shape as well as for its inherent breakability to express the elastic and broken promises made time and again by politicians. She illustrates several politiciansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; statements from around the world that are absurd, ludicrous or downright divisive. Some of the famous quotes by politicians used in this artwork are from as early as 1940 to the present day. For Shirley, the promises are fancy but useless â&#x20AC;&#x201C; just like the ceramics on her dinner table and prove that nothing ever changes with political rhetoric. 2018 Stoneware, porcelain, earthenware Variable size

SHITANSHU MAURYA JAAGO GRAHAK JAAGO In his sculpture, Shitanshu Maurya asks his audience to “ignore unfinished surfaces and textures in form and thought”. Through his monolithic work, Shitanshu draws attention to historical monuments, particularly in India, that are taken for granted and neglected. For him these monuments not only record the past and its glory but also contain messages for the future. He has therefore chosen to title his work Jaago Grahak Jaago (wake up consumer) as he believes “we are all customers, admirers and lovers of history”. His large-scale work references abandoned, decaying and disintegrating monuments, whose plight he believes we are consciously or unconsciously responsible for. He invites viewers to touch, feel and scribble on this work as they would on an abandoned monument. 2018 Stoneware, gold lustre Size: 66 cm x 61 cm x 254 cm

Supported by INLAKS INDIA FOUNDATION

SUKHDEV RATHOD MIGRATION AND MEMORIES In his installation Sukhdev Rathod explores his new home and surroundings. After several years in Vadodara, Sukhdev moved to a small village near the sea called Danda, located near the historic town of Murud Janjira in Maharashtra. The impact of moving and migrating to a completely different landscape has inspired this work. Living by the seashore he says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I spend most evenings at the beach sitting and observing the rocks. These rocks have been there for ages and seem steeped in history. They also seem very welcoming to me and as I sit amongst them they seem to add my history to theirs.â&#x20AC;? His installation recreates the rocks from his surroundings while their placement on the wall changes their context, making their interpretation more open-ended for the viewer. 2018 Stoneware Size: 9 cm x 122 cm x 610 cm

TALLUR L N MAN EXHIBITING HOLES “The cosmos is about the smallest hole that a man can hide his head in.” G. K. Chesterton Tallur uses sculpture, wall pieces, interactive work, and site-specific installations to expose the absurdities of everyday life and the anxieties that characterise contemporary society. His work incorporates handmade craftsmanship, found objects, organic and industrial material; symbols of developing India, often times creating a correlation between traditional and contemporary customs. Man Exhibiting Holes made with hollow terracotta bricks comes after several works in this series titled Man with Halo, Man vs Halo, Man with Hole, Man Carrying Holes. 2018 Terracotta hollow blocks, cement Size: 183 cm x 152 cm x 122 cm

THUKRAL & TAGRA LONGING FOR TOMORROW From a pop visual character to a predominantly abstract approach and compositional philosophy, Thukral and Tagra constantly change their vocabulary. The abstract suggestions of an everyday experience of architecture and urban design in Gurgaon and Chandigarh is embedded in their visual language, offering a sociopolitical commentary that is implicit in their aesthetic for the past fifteen years. The three-year project started in 2011 at a residency at the Meissen porcelain factory, as part of their art campus programme. Over fifty works were produced with three overlapping narratives. Somnium Genero, Escape, which is built upon the values, desires and dreams of the Punjabi community and Flight, which reflects on inner flights of imagination. Using Meissen’s rich archive and sources, the entire work is conceived with playful manifestations and assumptions. It attempts to make the material more approachable by illustrating the daily struggles of the contemporary and seeks to be both eternal and fragmentary in nature. 2011 - 2013 Porcelain, drawings on paper Variable size

TRIVENI PRASAD TIWARI SEEDS IN A RUINED CITY Seeds in a Ruined City reflects the fragmented realities of urban life. Coming from a village, Triveni Prasad Tiwari was overwhelmed by the chaos and struggle of a growing Indian city. Dark slippery roads, green and red traffic lights, burgeoning buildings sprouting in every direction, and the complete loss of connection to the very soil on which they stood. The earth held captive in concrete. He is struck by the paradox of prodigious technology and inner poverty, and in the face of urbanisation, his work asks, how seeds could grow without soil? What is the fate of a seed in a concrete city, where there are rooms but no home, bonsai but no Banyanâ&#x20AC;?. He describes his work as a song about the chaos of his time, about abundance contrasting with desperation. About ephemeral notions of perfection, surrounded by information, digital media and the internet. A virtual world at odds with inner life. The sprouting stoneware chickpea seeds are constricted in concrete and rebar and some lie scattered on the ground beside the pillars. 2018 Stoneware, reinforcement bars Sizes: Pillar bases 25 cm x 25 cm variable heights from 91 cm to 183 cm Chick peas approximately 4 cm diameter

Supported by INLAKS INDIA FOUNDATION

VINEET KACKER ENDLESS LANDSCAPE I: SUMMER II: WINTER Vineet Kackerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work is inspired by his travels through the high Himalayan regions, as well as a personal engagement with Eastern spiritual thought. Endless Landscape draws upon a sense of self experienced when walking through the mountains and encountering the mystical, magical and timeless. The sense of vast unending space perceived on the external plane intuitively reveals the same within oneself, altering indelibly the internal landscape. Two parallel landscapes, evocative of summer and winter, refer to the cyclical in nature. As one walks closer towards them, the endless reflections draw the viewer into the experience of a limitless, boundary-less space. 2018 Stoneware, wooden ply with digital printing, mirror glass Size: 150 cm x 45 cm x 30 cm each

VIPUL KUMAR NATURE’S SIGNATURE In this work Vipul Kumar explores the play of light and shadow, movement and stillness, utilising open and closed forms to allow a space for introspection. His large porous asymmetrical sculptures resemble an ancient monument with its worn exterior. Vipul exploits all that ceramics uniquely offers as in form, colour and texture, exploring the full gamut of glaze possibilities. Nature’s Signature comprises of six pieces that interrelate and connect the natural material of clay with the mark of the artist. In his practice, Vipul works spontaneously, allowing forms to develop freely, the man-made and the natural intertwining and merging one into the other. Through his work Vipul expresses his concern for environmental damage but believes in the power of nature to heal. As he says, “it is patient, adaptable, resilient and forgiving”. 2018 Stoneware Size: 356 cm x 118 cm x 52 cm

VISHNU THOZHUR KOLLERI RESONANCE TOWER, PHASE 1 Resonance Tower Phase I is an interactive installation that compiles Vishnu Thozhur Kolleri’s exploration of resonant ceramic voids. For the last five years, Vishnu has been designing a system to amplify the subtle sounds produced by the movement of a visitor, enabling an experience of sonic representations of body movements. The installation consists of several resonant sections, hand-held devices and a mounted instrument console that viewers can operate. The relay tower voices these interactions through hidden speakers. Each device, with its own unique personality, produces distinct percussive tones. Visitors are invited to embark on a haptic journey of self-discovery by playing the instruments, and sharing the output with a fluid audience. The installation encrypts one’s movements and bodily rhythms into a sonic dialogue. The entire process offers the possibility of experiencing the self through abstract yet perceptible auditory representations. While the work accommodates multiple performers, one of the devices transmits the artist’s own pre-recorded interactions in a loop. As the artwork comes alive with the participation of the audience, interacting individuals become performers, integral to the work. The installation reactivates our remote, primal connections with our surroundings through sensorial engagement. 2018 Terracotta, bamboo, paper clay, jute, sound Size: 274 cm x 366 cm x 457 cm

Supported by INLAKS INDIA FOUNDATION

KRIPAL SINGH SHEKHAWAT

ARTIST, MURALIST REVIVALIST Curated by Kristine Michael

Kripal Singh Shekhawat is widely recognised as a blue pottery revivalist even though he was trained as a painter and remained one throughout his career. Some of his most exciting commissions were in the form of murals that he painted on walls and ceilings in his native Jaipur, elsewhere in India as, also, overseas. Throughout his life he worked to bridge the gap between the vernacular and the contemporary through the fine art of miniature painting with the craft of pottery, thus paving a new path for a pioneering social and aesthetic mode of life and work in twentieth century India. Based on his work, he defies being compartmentalised into terms like craftsman, artisan, traditional or contemporary artist; indeed, he straddled effortlessly all these definitions, probably confounding the Indian art historiansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; narrow view of the growth of Indian modernism. His training at Santiniketan under the celebrated Nandalal Bose and Benode Behari Mukherjee was honed by his training in Japan in the Nihonga styles of Khawabata Rusi and Mayeda Seisson.

to Indian art practice. His legacy is continued by innumerous small artisan workshops in Jaipur, enabled by the dignity, new direction of meaningful contemporary craft, and the harnessing of local creative expression and knowledge that he nurtured. This retrospective exhibition, commissioned by the Jawahar Kala Kendra and DAG, as a collateral exhibition of the first Indian Ceramics Triennale sheds important light on the work, trajectory and legacy of Kripal Singh Shekhawat who is both traditional craftsman and early modernist painter whose historiography fills a gap in the debates of artistic development around swadeshi nationalism, and the polemics of traditionalism versus modernism in India.

However, it was his mentor, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, who, steeped in the nationalist philosophy of swadeshi and the relevance of craft traditions to modernism, changed his art practice by setting up the challenge of reviving the Jaipur Blue Pottery for his home state of Rajasthan. His contribution to the pottery revival was not only in the realm of the introduction of new patterns and design but it was his understanding of deshi rang or the mineral pigments from the Rajasthani miniature and fresco painting traditions combined with the knowledge of Japanese natural dyes, pigments, inks and paper which complemented his understanding of the ceramic techniques inherent to the Blue pottery medium. He constantly strove to strike a balance between the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;highâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; art mediums of painting for which he showed he was historically conscious in the references to the earlier traditions of Ajanta and miniature painting themes, with his love of figurative detail and representational skills explored on both, surfaces of clay and paper. His impeccable artisanship in both fresco, tempera painting and ceramics as well as his visible signature artistic style gave him the middle ground of being both, craftsman and artist. The credit for the revival of the very famous Jaipur Blue Pottery and its resurgence in the commercial world, giving new direction in form, ornament and design, will remain his unique contribution

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KRIPAL SINGH SHEKHAWAT

ARTIST, MURALIST REVIVALIST Curated by Kristine Michael

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BOOK LAUNCH

BUILDING WITH FIRE By Ray Meeker Published by CEPT The title ‘Building with Fire’ is meant to underline, first and foremost, a technique where fire is introduced into the construction process, in situ, as ‘cement’ for bonding building elements together permanently and of course to create a water-resistant structure. But ‘building with fire’ is also meant to suggest the passion with which these experiments have been undertaken, the element of risk involved in the process and, just as important, the fire Ray inspires in others. Though he has stopped firing houses, Ray Meeker is still building with fire — still taking immense risk. Remarks by eminent ceramics collector Dr Raj Kubba and architect Anupuma Kundoo. Followed by screening of the film Agni Jata

FILMS KEITH BRYMMER JONES (UK) Rolling Clay with Keith (2.46min) Clap Along with Keith (2.57min) Keith Encounter (1.37min) RAJULA SHAH (INDIA) Katha Loknath (Colour/2012/44 min) TAN HONGYU (CHINA) SHIFU (Colour/2015/19 mins)

Keith Brymer Jones (UK) is a contemporary potter and designer who started out as the lead singer of a British Punk band The Wigs, but soon became an apprentice at Harefield Pottery in London. He has created modern ceramics for leading retailers for several years. Sold in several countries worldwide, the past two decades has seen the development of his “Word Range” series, its gentle humour acquiring a steadily widening fan base. A judge in BBC2 The Great Pottery Throw Down, he is extremely well known for his marketing videos, spoofing well know popular songs – Rolling Clay with Keith and Clap Along with Keith. Keith Encounter, he says is his best video which was made to break into the US market, and it proved to be very popular. Rajula Shah (India) has a Diploma in Film Direction from Film & Television Institute of India. She is an independent filmmaker based in Pune. Her films include Sabad Nirantar (2007) and Beyond the Wheel (2005). Rajula also publishes poetry and short stories in various journals. Her poetry collection Parchhain ki Khidki Se was awarded the Navlekhan Puraskar by Bharatiya Jyanpeeth in 2004. She also translates literary work and writes on cinema. Tan Hongyu (China) (Ayu) is an award-winning filmmaker who has made numerous films on the traditional ceramic making processes of China, as well as documented the work processes of a number of leading ceramicists across the world. Her films include Being with Clay and Shifu. They survey the socio-political realities of various potter communities as well as the idea of recording an intangible cultural heritage.

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BOOK LAUNCH

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SYMPOSIUM

SETTING THE GROUND

ABHAY SARDESAI

The symposium was an accompanying event to Breaking Ground 2018, setting the ground and offering a multidimensional examination of the dynamic nature of the art of clay in the current context. It resulted in a lively, critical and scholarly discourse around ceramic art practice in India. It consisted of three sessions, exploring the nuances of the medium through a set of lectures and presentations. Each speaker came with a deep insight and experience in various aspects of the material, such as historic, technological and socio-political. Every session was moderated by an expert in the field and concluded with an open discussion.

Clay and Community Art and society have always overlapped, both informing and reacting to the other. Ceramics as a material is rich in history and laden with metaphor. How is the practice of ceramics located within the fabric of community? How have traditional clay crafts evolved to face the challenges of contemporary life? What are the ways in which artists can effectively address issues raised in the context of environmental and socio-political needs? Locating a Language and Practice The language of clay channels discovery, and social, cultural and personal expression. It offers a nonverbal historic record and holds a mirror to current cultural interactions. This session seeks to evaluate the language of clay in the larger context of art and architecture â&#x20AC;&#x201C; methods of dissemination, curatorial perspectives and studio practice. Material Matters Ceramics is one of the earliest of human technologies. Simultaneous discoveries around the world of how fire could transform clay changed the nature of human life. Even today, it is a means to map trade routes and international networks, and measure the impact of an ever-shrinking globe. How did technology influence the ancient practice of clay and ceramics? And in what way does evolving technology drive change, shift the meaning and perception of the material, alter its use, and influence practice?

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SYMPOSIUM

SETTING THE GROUND

ABHAY SARDESAI

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RAJEEV SETHI

Clay in Design and Space

new materials such as cement and steel take over, leaving traditional materials such as stone, wood, clay or terracotta behind. The 1972 Ministry of Works and Housing Memorandum Code requires every public building to spend 2% of their budget on the inclusion of arts and crafts. However, this rule has never been enforced, resulting in millions of artisans losing their livelihood in a changing world.

The traditional potter, a prajapati, is no longer a progenitor. Nor is the chak pooja praying on the wheel, to mark an auspicious beginning. The resilient dwellers of this threatened occupation have to turn to alternate modes of livelihood. The potters of Bishnupur survive by making souvenir ash trays. Will new platforms like the Indian Ceramics Triennale become an inclusive and tenacious renaissance reaching out to the regions or to places where a large number of stake-holders live? In this paper, Rajeev Sethi traces the history of ceramics in India starting from the turn of the century and the arts and crafts movement. While the movement started in England the colonists desired to negotiate the ‘other’ through conscientious pedagogy. Hierarchies, however, were difficult to define in the Indian context and arts and crafts were clubbed together in all colleges from the Sir J J School of Art in Mumbai to Mayo College of Arts and Crafts in Lahore. New designs were important and the institutions created a fertile ground for experimentation and innovation. Disciplines such as architecture and engineering worked in close proximity to the schools of arts and crafts and generated unplanned synergies. Crafts weren’t a mere collectable or an ornament but integral to the architectural structure. The scene shifts post independence, the next generation becomes a product of a divide- art/craft, hi/low, urban/rural, traditional/modern, east/west, village artisans/studio potter. Building codes change and

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Besides critical affirmative action, other aspects needed to elevate the traditional crafts are mapping and documenting the varied clay-making technologies, packaging, as well as the marketing of the wares. In order to create awareness about the rich arts and crafts of India, it is necessary to introduce crafts in school curriculums. Without appreciation and pehchan (recognition) there is no growth for the young- the future of creative economies will depend on the creation of original content. Rajeev outlines his amazing personal journey in the craft/art world since his youth as a designer, curator and scenographer. For over thirty-five years, through his work in design, architecture, performances, festivals, exhibitions, publications, and policy, he has identified ways to bring contemporary relevance to the traditional skills of vulnerable artisan communities and creative professionals. No seed is shy of germination, nor does any fruit remain on a tree when ripe. And when it falls it does not rot if the clay is fertile. We shall not cease from exploration, And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time T S Eliot

Designer Rajeev Sethi is noted internationally for his contribution to preserving and celebrating the subcontinent’s rich cultural heritage. He has lectured and presented in universities and forums around the world, including Princeton, Harvard, and the IITs. He has been honoured with the Padma Bhushan by the President of India and the Order of Merit by the Federal Republic of Germany.

NANDITA PALCHOUDHURI Traditionally, crafts were functional, serving the community in which they were produced. While society has restructured itself with new lifestyles and materials, the production of crafts has remained static. Nandita Palchaudhuri works to reconnect the crafts to contemporary demand. In the absence of a fund to support research and development, she repurposes the craft in collaboration with artisans sometimes as a curator and sometimes as a designer or artist!

A large number of craft practices like Chandannagar lights, Puja pandals, Sholapith sculpture and Patachitra are located around the Durga Puja which keeps the craftsmanship idle for much of the year. Nandita’s practice involves finding newer contexts for these crafts and as well has initiating conversations with the crafts people about possibilities and ways to implement and redesign their skills to answer the questions that modern economy is asking them.

Panchmura, a village of Bengal famous for the terracotta Bankura horses also produces a range of votive clay objects dedicated to Manasa, the snake goddess. The village used to host a snake festival (Jhapan) until a few years ago, at which time there was spike in the clay crafts. As the festival was banned in the view of ecology and animal welfare, two questions emerge. Can a centuries old practice that lies at the root of the cultural production a society be halted; and if so, with what consequence? How does craftsmanship survive ecological and environmental sanctions?

Kumartuli is the largest ‘God-making’ collective, located in urban Calcutta. The Kumartuli artisan is not trained to conceptualise, but instead, precisely replicate traditional formulae in making clay images year after year. The Durga is created by a process of construction that requires specialisation at each stage. With the advent of the designer-artist, artisans face the ignominy of being marginalised, and seen as a production tool, and not the custodians of crafting the Durga. The artisan with little or no acknowledgement or ownership enables innovative forms and materials conceived by

‘Mitticool’- Crafts and the Socio-economic spectrum designers. The conflict between concept and artistry assumes the proportions of a clay war, fuelled by sponsored awards, celebrity endorsements for designers and the clamour from the commissioners for more imagination and themes. The enormous fees paid to artist-designers have sharpened this conflict. These are systems under stress, negotiating the demands of an evolving value system in modern India. Every craft practice is responding to the changing market in an ad hoc and instinctive manner. While exporters, merchandisers, social enterprises and designers have certainly expanded the demand, their interventions are seasonal and short term. Patuas now perform scrolls on the lives of Barak Obama and Osama Bin Laden, and paint mythological scenes without the accompanying narrative. Light artists make LED light panels that depict Mother Teresa and princess Diana ascending to heaven hand-in-hand. Sholapith Santa Clauses and the dokhra-cast reindeers decorate European Christmas markets. The artisan, whose daily survival is tenuous, can hardly be expected to defend form and authenticity. The Sagar Manthan, a turbulent churning of skills and markets: the emergence of new materials and technology, in a labyrinth of new aspirations, environmental awareness, social mobility, and quick fix gratification. While some skills will die a natural death or be killed, fresh approaches will emerge. For the first time, the artisan seems poised to determine his own destiny; much like Mansukhlal Prajapati the potter from Rajkot whose astounding enterprise Mitticool.com is the inspiration for the title of this paper. Nandita Palchoudhuri is an international curator-consultant for the Indian folk arts. Her work creates cutting-edge artistic and functional applications using traditional skills to address current social needs. She has been a board member and trustee of the India Foundation for the Arts, a member of the Ford Foundation, an International Initiative for Social Philanthropy, and is a trustee of several other national trusts and foundations related to the folk and performing arts in India.

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RAJEEV SETHI

Clay in Design and Space

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NANCY ADAJANIA In this paper, Nancy Adajania explores the conceptual nuances of time – specifically timeliness and post-apocalyptic time – along with related propositions of pedagogy and play, sociality, political relevance and a speculative approach to history in relation to the ceramic practices of two artists: Madhvi Subrahmanian and Sahej Rahal; the former a trained ceramicist and the latter a painter and performance artist who has taught himself the art of making unfired clay sculptures.

rigour and criticality: he works from a commitment to establishing what history is for from a liberal-progressive point of view.

Nancy begins with a meditation on the social history of time in the Indian context by referring to chaakri – the Bengali term for a salaried job in the lower ranks of the colonial administrative service, governed by ‘clock time’ – with reference to Company School and Kalighat paintings. She counters the monstrous clock-face of chaakri with the figure of the spiritual seeker and ‘God-intoxicated man’ or pagal, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-1886), who cautioned his devotees against the ‘dasatya of chaakri’ – the slavery of the office job (Sumit Sarkar, Renaissance and Kaliyuga).

By pushing back the horizons of the contemporary and citing the nai talim experiment and Nekchand’s sculpture garden, Nancy signals to the audience witnessing the first Indian Ceramics Triennale that the expansion of the art of ceramics in the current era cannot be limited merely to a formal or technical newness or an updated political rhetoric. It calls for an ethical responsibility that seeks to renew the integral resources of the medium while also re-negotiating its limitations.

Nancy then engages with the present as a time of hyper-chaakri. The impulse of the neoliberal economy is to maximise the time available for monetisation and commodification. In such a context, ceramic practice asserts its ability to offer viewers the gift of time, whether conceived as a process of layered labour, as contemplative engagement with materiality, as alchemical transformation, or as an opening towards the rituals of sociality. By embracing sociality, Nancy argues, Madhvi has attempted to break the spell of the studio-shaped fetish object and restore the ceramicist’s art to the circuits of everyday life, in which the viewer does not remain a passive consumer but organically contributes to the process of art-making. In Sahej’s case, Nancy argues that his playful, speculative approach to history and his engagement with the archaeological or post-industrial ruin is marked by an insistence on

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Its Time Has Come: Examining Ceramic Practice at a Crucial Moment of Transition

In adjacency to these two practices, Nancy places the potter and activist Devi Prasad’s nai talim experiments in Sewagram, Wardha, in the late-colonial period and early independence era next to Madhvi’s current attempts at sociality. The nai talim experiments were based on Gandhian pedagogical principles of a holistic education where body, mind and spirit could be cultivated simultaneously. In Sahej’s case, she examines his affinity with the artist-outlier Nekchand, who had the courage to counter Corbusier’s authoritarian modernism by building a sculpture garden out of terracotta detritus, industrial ceramic waste, broken bangles and bicycle frames on the periphery of Corbusier’s master plan in 1960s Chandigarh.

Nancy Adajania is a cultural theorist and curator. She has written extensively and lectured at various international venues, including Documenta, Skulptur Projekte Münster, Asia Contemporary Art Week, NYC, and the Dhaka Art Summit, on public art, new media art, subaltern art, transcultural art and biennale histories from a Global South perspective. Her book, The Thirteenth Place: Positionality as Critique in the Art of Navjot Altaf (Guild, 2016), maps the histories of India’s Leftist and feminist movements. Nancy has edited the transdisciplinary anthology Some Things That Only Art Can Do (2017). She was Joint Artistic Director of the 9th Gwangju Biennale (2012).

JACQUES KAUFMANN

From Material (and Process) to Space

Through one medium’s practice, clay, in its diversity allows Jacques Kaufmann to understand the world. From Material to Space, discusses the issues of materials, processes, and space that are central in his creation process. Jacques believes in the importance of a culture of material consciousness, where thinking and making are actions that are connected to a material that itself has an identity. Jacques is looking for a Poetical Energy. Poetical; it is the way to make 1+1 > 2. Energy: before we come to consciousness, we are connected to the world and with artwork through a body to body relationship, where the quality of energy transferred becomes perceptions, emotions and ... more if possible! To quote an American poet, Archibald Mac Leish (1892-1982); A poem should not mean but be. Form doesn’t come just by chance. Where is the legitimacy of forms sourced? In fact, there are forces that are in action to establish forms, in relation with materials. In the link connecting materials and the forces leading to forms, let us begin with materials. About Material: French philosopher, Gaston Bachelard has developed a phenomenology of materials and as a phenomenologist, analyses elements toward the poetics of their matter.More specifically; • A material has natural or artificial origins • Its nature is defined by its physical and chemical properties and surface qualities. • It is used for specific properties and issues requiring the use of use specific tools and processes • It can be related to values, such as cultural, aesthetic, emotional, economical, philosophical, psychological… Processes and tools may assist in the dialogue between materials and forms: • Forms come from forces – processes, or actions, sometimes with tools – in relation with materials. These forces belong to the phenomenology of action.

• We can consider them within three domains Nature: forces of all kinds Culture: social habits, norms, skills etc Art: process, skills, tools etc Processes may be compared to vocabulary; are named by verbs or actions. Verbs or actions and processes belong to a “collective”; used by individuals, they need to get specific qualities and identity. In vocabulary, it is the role of the adjectives to provide these specific qualities. Processes as well as materials are not neutral: they have psychological, emotional, sensorial, and other resonances. Three categories of space: • Inside • In between • Outside When speaking about space, Jacques includes all sorts of spatial domains: social, relational, physical, spiritual, cultural and economical. The question then is, what are the different natures of the space he has to deal with? What are its qualities, properties, what kind of emotions and feelings are already there and given? But also, is there any problem with this space? These questions allow him to take position, in the form of an art work. He says, “To have work done, you need an individual who feels/ thinks, a material who can incarnate this thinking through processes, including but not necessarily tools, and a space that can welcome it. Just change one element and everything will change”.

Jacques Kaufmann is an artist, teacher, traveling ceramicist and dreamer in many cultures. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Feu Sacré at Biennale des Céramistes Suisses, Lucerne. His work has been acquired by many illustrious public and private collections across the globe including the Shigaraki Contemporary Ceramic Museum Collection, Japan and the Musée de l’Ariana, Geneva. He is the emeritus president of the International Academy of Ceramics.

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rigour and criticality: he works from a commitment to establishing what history is for from a liberal-progressive point of view.

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Its Time Has Come: Examining Ceramic Practice at a Crucial Moment of Transition

JACQUES KAUFMANN

From Material (and Process) to Space

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KATE MALONE

Faith in the Process

NAMAN AHUJA

Technologies of Indian Ceramics: New findings and Revised Chronologies and then Black-and-Red Ware (with heavily reduced, burnished black sections) that are common in South India from 200 BC onwards. It was at about this time that the use of moulds for making ceramic pots, plaques and figurines became endemic. Initially thought of as being unique to Roman sites, we are now able to see how this technology spread across the world at that time. And curiously, at least in India, the moulded ceramics became so popular, that even hand-made ceramics began to copy them in 200 AD.

In this presentation Kate Malone highlights the four major areas of her practice as a ceramicist and potter – decorative art, public art projects, glaze research, and TV, presenting The Great British Pottery Throwdown. She also talks of how she builds and serves the community through her studios. Kate’s working philosophy is that of having “faith in the process”. She does not fully plan the outcome of her work in clay before starting on a piece, and choices made during the making process can only be made then. Art making is a series of decisions; each decision in turn affecting the next. The result can be a surprise and is always an intrigue. Kate believes that life is a journey and the spaces between actions are as important as the actions themselves. The lecture covers briefly the impact and inspiration of her numerous visits to India. The purity and exuberance of Indian art and architecture, and the truthfulness of its smallest detail has influenced her work for over thirty years. Kate works with a team of proficient assistants and interns who are drawn to her work and gather around her practice, applying their

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considerable individual skill base to the work. She refers to herself as the composer and conductor of an orchestra. The studio family is as important to Kate as the objects she makes. The osmosis of knowledge in the studio, the growth of the skills and careers of her interns, apprentices and assistants, and working together on her increasingly ambitious and varied projects wth this everexpanding family fulfils her role within her community - building communities and community spaces through her art being her significant contribution to society.

Kate Malone is one of the UK’s leading ceramicists with an illustrious career spanning thirty years. She is a regular contributor at specialist art events, and a judge on BBC2’s The Great Pottery Throw Down. Kate has had over ten solo shows, and participated in numerous group shows and art fairs. Her work has been acquired for public and private collections all over the world, including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Arts Council, UK

Claywork can be studied through history as a product of organisation of labour. It is plentiful, and it endures. Unlike stone artwork and buildings which are expensive, clay is widely used by all sections of society, and is a valuable archaeological source. The history of the exceptionally rich literary and aesthetic metaphors which are associated with ceramic artworks all over India – the kumbha, ghata, purna-ghata, etc. – from ancient texts, to living traditions, are not the subject of this paper. Neither does Naman allude to the use of unfired clay which has a massive history. He focusses on the history of fired ceramics: ancient, and medieval. The first uses of the off-white clays of Baluchistan which turn to a biscuit beige or pale grey terracotta in 4000 BC form the start of his study. New research on the oxides and mineral pigments used to paint these exceptionally refined wheel-thrown pots by 3500 BC reveals a command on metallurgy we had not previously known about. A thousand years later, we see a shift to red clay which turns to the more easily recognised types of terracotta, that can be painted and/or burnished. It is also used for functional and ritual vessels, as well as sculpted objects and fired bricks and is widespread at all Harappan sites from 2800 to 1700BC. A variety of characteristic wares emerge thereafter: Pirak, with its distinctive geometric patterns with manganese and iron-oxide in 800 BC, Swat with its anthropomorphic pots in 700BC that are akin to the Agnicayana Vedic ritual pots of Kerala, Painted Grey Ware from 800BC onward, the so-called Northern Black Polished Wares from 400 BC onwards,

While entire cities, complete with their reservoirs and roads, began to be made of fired terracotta in South Asia by 2800 BC, the earliest monumental clay sculptures don’t really survive from the period prior to the second century AD. Kushan period stupas in the ancient region of Gandhara were faced with grand sculptures, often of clay or stucco. In Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, temples were erected at Ahichhatra and Bhitargaon with terracotta sculptures in the fifth century. The tradition carried on right till the end of the ancient period at Nalanda and is also seen at Vaikuntha Perumal at Kanchipuram in the seventh to eighth century. Surprisingly little is known about South Asian ceramics from the period between the seventh to twelfth centuries apart from some new discoveries of pre and early Ghaznavid ceramics from Afghanistan. It was from this region that the new tradition of white clays and a base for glazed tiles and faience, also known as fritware or stonepaste came to be used for the making of glazed and painted tiles. This technique began to be used in India after the twelfth century, and some of the grandest examples of that, from Gwalior, Multan, Gaur (Bengal), Agra (Chini ka Rauza), Thatta (Sindh) and Lahore, conclude this paper. Dr Naman Ahuja is an art historian and curator. He is a professor of Indian Art and Architecture at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His studies on terracotta, ivories and small finds have drawn attention to a wide range of ritual cultures and transcultural exchanges at an everyday, quotidian level. He has curated several exhibitions, most notably The Body in Indian Art and Thought, and published books, including The Making of the Modern Indian Artist Craftsman: Devi Prasad

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KATE MALONE

Faith in the Process

NAMAN AHUJA

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TAMSIN VAN ESSEN Tamsin Van Essen’s work takes ceramics beyond the studio or gallery and into a physical commentary on contemporary socio-cultural phenomena. In this paper, she discusses cross-disciplinary aspects of ceramic practice and technique, examining projects at the threshold of art and science, exploring aesthetic ambiguity and questioning current obsessions with perfection and beauty. Her work comments on social behaviour and issues that permeate modern society – health, stigma, education, and the public perception of science and medicine. Within this conceptual framework, she emphasises the importance of material experimentation and how this sits within the wider context of ceramic tradition. The projects she introduces all have a particular focus on medical science, examining our relationship as humans with medicine, issues arising from our attitudes and prejudices, and how technology has shaped our approach to medical diagnosis, tools and our identities as material beings. The first project, Medical Heirlooms, explores attitudes to disease and how we can simultaneously be fascinated and repulsed by certain medical conditions. A set of ceramic apothecary jars display symptoms of hereditary medical conditions, becoming containers for disease. As family heirlooms, the jars can be passed down through the generations in the same way as the hereditary conditions: a legacy of ill-health. The second, The Anatomy of Transformations, is a residency and research collaboration

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Ceramics Crossing Boundaries

INGRID MURPHY

Of All Things Seen and Unseen utilizing the translucency of the bone china, and simultaneously a partner hand illuminates in my home the UK, allowing me to know when someone is engaging with the work 6,000 miles away. This idea of connectivity between maker and viewer disrupts our conventional relationship with objects within the museum. The ‘Space Plates of Jaipur’ depict flattened 360° imagery of sites within Jaipur, these images are in fact Augmented Reality (AR) markers enabling viewers to access through a smart device the 360 world of Jantar Mantar and Amber Fort. Although still a functional domestic object the plate becomes a portal to embedded digital content.

The third project is a continuing collaboration between designers and historians, Making Enhanced, committed to finding a new way of working. Launched in a ‘shed of wonder’ within the Saatchi Gallery in London, this project breaks down boundaries across disciplines to produce work that introduces new audiences to alternative, criticallyinformed ways of experiencing their environment. The research digs into ritual use of tools, and how the materiality and performative aspects of objects can be used to define status and image.

with Dr Richard Wingate, Head of Anatomy at King’s College London. Based in the specimen museum and anatomical research laboratories, the project uses ceramics as a vehicle to investigate how anatomy can be understood as a series of transformations, focusing on the different layers of material, developmental and dimensional processes involved. This leads on to the development of a series of workshops now included in the curriculum for medical students at Imperial College London, using clay to improve tactile observation skills, communication and enhance the students’ ability to translate between the digital and the physical. The workshops highlight the value of ‘hands-on’ practice and that along with the cutting edge technological advances in medical science, one must not underplay the importance of our most basic technology – the interaction of human hand and tool.

To conclude, Tamsin discusses material ambiguity and subversion of the familiar, through introducing a series of ceramic tools exploring ancient Indian medical technology. She argues that the craft and material qualities of ceramics can provide a language for communication, presenting an investigation into the critical and metaphorical possibilities of ceramics as a three-dimensional medium for interpreting abstract ideas.

Tamsin an Essen is a British ceramicist based between London and New Delhi. She is a graduate of Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art, and has been working as an MA lecturer and tutor at Central Saint Martins alongside her studio practice. Her work is included in public and private collections throughout the world, including the French National Collection (CNAP) and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

This paper explores how new and emergent technologies have influenced my practice based research in ceramics. We are entering an ever more hybridized reality where we co-evolve rather than coexist with technology, a world where atoms become bits and bits become atoms, we now speak of digital materiality- how does this influence the material practice of ceramics? There has been a significant rise in craft makers working with digital tools and processes in recent years, seamlessly moving between screen and workbench. However much of the discourse on integration of digital forming or fabrication processes with traditional making skills places the emphasis on the notion of ‘facture’, on how the thing is made. Through a series of projects I explore how ceramic, and in essence craft practice, can adopt technological constructs to look beyond ‘facture’ and to see if it can changes how we perceive a crafted object. For this I focused on the ‘augmented object’, the ‘hacked object, the ‘connected’ object and the ‘smart’ object, the work created for Breaking Ground explores a range of these constructs and their inherent technologies. I.O.Touch is an Internet of Things enabled ceramic hand, which exploits the conductivity of gold lustre as a touch capacitance sensor. When touched the hand illuminates,

In ‘Sounds of the Pink City’, found chai cups from the streets of Jaipur are place upon key intersections in map of the Pink City, which is etched into a wooden table top, here again touch capacitance sensing is used to trigger sound recordings from those locations. The cacophonous sounds of the city access through the ceramic objects found within its walls. I have found that working with new technology has enabled me to further explore the material characteristics of ceramics, as well as highlighting its historicity and associated material culture. Physical computing and clay has been strangely symbiotic in exploring all that is seen and unseen within a crafted object. ‘Technology is therefore no mere means. Technology is a way of revealing. If we give heed to this, and then another whole realm for the essence of technology will open itself up to us. It is the realm of revealing, i.e., of truth’ Heidegger

Ingrid Murphy studied Ceramics and Photography at Crawford School of Art & Design and completed a Masters Degree in Ceramics at Cardiff School of Art & Design, where she is currently the Academic Lead for Transdisciplinarity. Ingrid was awarded the Creative Wales Award to explore how new technologies could influence the sole practitioner in ceramics. In 2012 Ingrid led the development of the Innovative Maker programme at Cardiff, which combines traditional making skills with technology. She leads the university’s Fab-Cre8 research group for applied research in digital technologies

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Ceramics Crossing Boundaries

INGRID MURPHY

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WENDY GERS Breaking Ground, the first Indian Ceramics Triennale was the occasion to explore the state of contemporary Indian and international ceramics. Curated by six leading mid-career Indian ceramic artists,¹ the exhibition is a testimony to two years of exceptional tenacity and vision. Visitors were treated to both, the spectacular architectural oeuvre of the prominent Indian architect Charles Correa, the Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK), and forty seven equally ambitious installations of raw and fired clay. The JKK also hosted a collateral retrospective exhibition of local painter, muralist and designer, Kripal Singh Shekhawat. This little gem shed light onto the artist responsible for the revival of Jaipur Blue Pottery. As a professional Curator, Art Historian and Researcher, I have had the occasion to visit, jury and direct ceramics biennales and triennials across the globe, including in Australia, China, France, Great Britain, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and the US. I was thus extremely curious to see the out-come of this artist-curated event, produced by colleagues whose oeuvres I hold in high esteem. I was not disappointed. This exhibition is mammoth in scale, with seriously ambitious works and installations. I have never seen a ceramics event of this magnitude and quality. Both the organisers and the artists stepped up to the challenge, dreamed big, and delivered bigger! As the first such international contemporary ceramics event, the Indian Ceramics Triennale serves as a landmark. It evidences a clear rupture with national ceramics exhibitions of the past. These traditionalist institutions advocate a rigid purism, insisting that works submitted are entirely made of fired clay, and rejecting multi-media 1

Madhvi Subrahmanian, Sharbani Das Gupta, Reyaz Badaruddin, Neha Kudchadkar, Vineet Kacker and Anjani Khanna. 2 These include Anjani Khanna, Asim Paul, Partha Dasgupta and Shalini Dam among many others. 3 Consider for example works by Juree Kim and Danijela Pivašević Tenner. 4 Both Ester Beck and Juree Kim’s work engaged with performance. 5 The multi-media installation Made Out of Place, presented by the British Ceramics Biennial presents an ongoing collaboration between British artist Joanne Ayre and Warli artists Ramesh and Rasika Hengadi. 6 Ashwini Bhat has collaborated with the poet Forrest Gander for her installation. 7 Artists working with sound and music include Vishnu Thozur Kolleri, and Jane Perryman (in collaboration with the composer Kevin Flanagan)

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CLOSING SPEAKER Parsing the Earth: Reflections upon the first Indian Ceramics Triennale

MASTERCLASSES

submissions. Breaking Ground embraces multimedia sculptural installations,² raw clay ephemeral works,3 performative pieces,4 and collaborative works that engage with local vernacular traditions.5 Installations engaged with other artistic disciplines such as poetry,6 sound or music,7 light,8 photography,9 painting,10 architecture both in terms of scale and form,11 and other materials.12 Digital components are a feature of some installations.13 It seems fitting that as I write this text from the lofty peaks of the Himalayas, the monsoon rains form a melodic sound-scape. Breaking Ground is seminal to a metaphorical cycle of artistic renewal within the Indian artistic landscape. The curatorial team cleared a symbolic field, tilled the soil and sowed the seeds of curiosity, innovation, diversity, collaboration and excellence. There is no doubt about the exceptional quality of this first harvest. The ensuing downpour will nourish this field, and India will harvest the benefits of this worldleading creative endeavour. Wendy Gers is a curator and art historian, with a specialisation in modern and contemporary ceramics. Founder of the digital publisher, wgartbooks.com and a Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, she has curated international exhibitions and biennales such as Cont{r}act Earth, The First Central China Ceramics Biennale, Henan, Post-colonialism?, Israel, and the 2014 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale, Terra-Nova. She has authored Scorched Earth: A Century of Southern African Potteries, exhibition catalogues, book chapters, and articles in scholarly journals. Her interests include ceramics, critical theory, cultural studies, sustainability, post-colonial studies and curatorial practices. 8 9

Madhvi Subrahmanian activated her installation by the thoughtful use of light. Both Neha Kudchadkar and Vineet Kacker prominently feature photography in their installations. Installations by Reyaz Badaruddin and Adil Writer prominently include and explore painted canvasses. Among others, Ajay Kanwal, Jacques Kaufmann, Ray Meeker, Aarti Vir, Rakhee Kane, P.R. Daroz,, Triveni Prasad Tiwari’s installations engage with or are architectural elements. The clay and cow dung figures of Benitha Perciyal, the laser-cut terracotta tile sculpture by Tallur or Sharbani Das Gupta’s brick labyrinth. Élodie Alexandre and Ingrid Murphy both included digital components.

KATE MALONE and the BALLS POND STUDIO Thinking Hands Kate Malone is one of the UK’s leading ceramicists with an illustrious career spanning thirty years. Kate has worked to make her artwork accessible to enthusiasts of all levels and dedicates much time to sharing her expertise.

ANGE PETER Haiyu Slipware

Ange Peter is an accomplished practitioner of the rare Japanese Haiyu Slipware. She initially studied pottery with Ray Meeker and Deborah Smith from the Golden Bridge Pottery, Puducherry and then travelled extensively in South East Asia. The masterclass was run by the Balls Pond Studio team and introduced the participants She studied with Japanese master Shibata Masaaki, from whom she learned the Haiyu to a “patchwork of skills and knowledge” that the team was eager to share. This includ- Slipware technique, which is probably exclusively used in Japan, and only by a ed exercises in mastering hand skills and control, coiling, slab rolling, press moulding, handful of potters. glazing and glaze research techniques. There Iron and white slips are used on wet clay, which is then pressed on to a plaster mold, were discussions on inspiration and how embedding the slip pattern into the clay. ideas and observations translate into work. Traditionally, the piece is covered with a Participants did not necessarily walk away heavy ash glaze and fired in a wood kiln. with a finished piece but with a collage of Ange taught the first steps of making Haiyu ideas generated through making, dialogue Slipware for which she is known in India. and knowledge sharing.

JANE PERRYMAN Containing Time, Releasing Creativity Jane Perryman is an internationally recognised ceramicist, writer, photographer and filmmaker from England. Her practice has developed traditional pottery making and firing techniques into a contem porary art form. She combines studio work with writing. Jane’s multi-media installation Containing Time will provide the inspiration for this masterclass. Participants will explore randomly found materials to release creativity using a range of media. This will include paper, frottage, text, photography and plaster. A collection of everyday organic and man-made materials will be used as a starting point.

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CLOSING SPEAKER Parsing the Earth: Reflections upon the first Indian Ceramics Triennale

MASTERCLASSES

ANGE PETER Haiyu Slipware

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CHILDREN’S WORKSHOPS

‘Arts for All’ is a multi-disciplinary arts effort that aims to bring regular engagement with the arts via means of plays, workshops, books, film and more for children. This initiative comes from the Akshara Foundation of Arts and Learning core cause –to bring the arts to children who are otherwise not exposed to the same. Akshara Foundation of Arts and Learning joined hands with the Contemporary Clay Foundation to create and execute the children’s programme ‘Arts for All’ at the Indian Ceramics Triennale at Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur from 31st August – 18th November, 2018. This all-inclusive programme had children from local schools in Jaipur visiting the exhibition, interacting with artists as well as creating their own ceramic art expressions at the Clay Room- a dedicated space for free play with clay. From September through November 2018 workshops were conducted for children by artists from India and overseas. Around 400 children were given numerous workshop opportunities with six inspiring artists to experiment with clay and mosaic art. The children took their work with them to display in their schools and homes.

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3 - 4 September, 2018 Ruby Jhunjhunwala A Pune based ceramic artist with an approach to technique that is imaginative and proficient, Ruby trained in Alfred University (Upstate NY) under the internationally renowned master, late Daniel Rhodes. She further trained under the guidance of ceramic masters Gurcharan and Mansimran Singh of Delhi Blue Pottery. In the last 30 years , she has established herself as an environmental muralist and has to her credit large murals ranging from 600 to 5000 sq.feet. She has now chosen to devote her time and creative instincts to social awareness. Mutthi - A Fistful of Clay, was born of Ruby Jhunjhunwala’s desire to create an open space for families to share stories and overcome stigmas around special needs by exploring and creating through the medium of clay. The objective of the workshop is to provide an environment where the participants touch, feel and hold clay while making an effort to connect, express and accept. In this space, no one is “different”. But everyone is unique, and they themselves are their living story, without having to create one. Once we accept everyone as our brethren, it is then that we can appreciate what makes them unique by truly understanding them. The Mutthi - A Fistful of Clay, is a symbolic representation of this inclusion. To make this expression stronger and more enriching, she collaborated with Kathak and Contemporary Dancer Hrishikesh Pawar.

6 - 7 September, 2018 Kate Malone A British studio potter, ceramic artist and judge, along with Keith Brymer Jones, on BBC2’s The Great Pottery Throw Down, she is known for her large sculptural vessels and rich, bright glazes. Kate’s work is displayed in a number of public locations and numerous public collections across museums and galleries across the United Kingdom. Inspired by the earthen pots used in India, Kate and her team created large clay pots for the children to work on collaboratively. Kate spoke to the children about clay, it’s origin and how it is used in our daily lives. The children were then worked with the clay moulding them in to into different shapes. Samples of the local flora and fauna were used as inspiration to create adornments for the pots. The workshop was fun, informative, hands-on and involved team work. The children created beautiful imaginative designs to go on the pots. These pots were then dried, fired and delivered to the children’s schools to be appreciated by everyone.

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CHILDREN’S WORKSHOPS 27 and 28 September, 2018 Aditi Saraogi

4 - 5 October, 2018 Kaveri Bharat

First exposed to the medium through a studio potter in Kolkata, Aditi trained under Mansimran Singh at Andretta Pottery, Himachal Pradesh and later honed her skills under Ray Meeker in Puducherry. In 2007, she was the artist- in residence along with Isabelle Roux at Beaucens, France.

Growing up with a creative and supportive family, Kaveri Bharath found her way very naturally into clay around 1995, and has remained with it, since.

She says “clay is one of the best mediums to express one’s self and reconnect to our inner selves and to nature. It helps us to fulfil our dreams and gives rise to new ones.” Through methods of coiling and slab making and with the help of some basic stamps and found material, the children were encouraged to make pencil stands, vases, nameplates, platters, etc to hone into their creative and innovative skills.

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She learned under Hans Kaushik and Padma Rajagopal in Studio Alpha near Mysore. She had a total immersion in clay work in 1996 and 1997 learning pottery under Ray Meeker at the Golden Bridge Pottery in Puducherry, India, where she got her basics and a strong foundation in wheel thrown pottery, and wood fired kilns. Sculpting with fibrous paper clay was a fun session combining clay and paper to make improbable vessels and creatures. Children made otherwise impossible fine clay piece with the fibrous paper clay. Children made plates, bowls and figurines using found material like leaves, flowers, and even their fingers to create impressions for decorating.

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CHILDREN’S WORKSHOPS 27 and 28 September, 2018 Aditi Saraogi

4 - 5 October, 2018 Kaveri Bharat

Growing up with a creative and supportive family, Kaveri Bharath found her way very naturally into clay around 1995, and has remained with it, since.

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CHILDREN’S WORKSHOPS 25 - 26 October, 2018 Rashi Jain A practicing ceramic artist, Rashi trained at the Golden Bridge Pottery, Puducherry, The Valley School (KFI), Bangalore, The Ruskin School of Fine Art, Oxford, U.K. and has apprenticed with various artists. She has documented and worked with traditional potter communities across India. Punch & Pinch! Exploring basic hand building with clay, using our instincts and impressions of the hand to create: playfully, skilfully and thoughtfully. Children were taught to mould clay with the punch and pinch technique and create faces with clay. Though some used their own face as inspiration others created faces of monsters and mythical creatures using their vivid imagination.

11 - 12 October, 2018 Reyaz Badaruddin Reyaz went to Varanasi in 1994 to study ceramic design at Banaras Hindu University and to Cardiff, UK, in 2009 on a Charles Wallace Fellowship to study for an MA attachment in ceramics. His practice deals with forms derived from architecture; from the architecture of the place where he grew up to the architecture he comes across whilst traveling in different parts of the world. 47 children were introduced to the art and techniques of mosaic artists around the world, and techniques of mosaic. They were encouraged to arrive at the final drawing of the ‘subject’ to be made with mosaic through different drawing activities. The selected drawings were then enlarged and re-drawn on the panel. By the end of workshop, there were 9 panels created by children to be put up on the walls of their school.

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The Arts for All programme is supported by Akshara Foundation of Arts and Learning and aims at exposing students from schools to ceramic arts at the Indian Ceramics Triennale. Akshara Foundation of Arts and Learning (AFAL) is a not-for-profit public trust based in Mumbai. Founded in 2007 by professionals from education and the arts, with the aim of integrating the arts and education. AFAL believes that arts are integral to learning and they nurture the young to become sensitive and compassionate adults.

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CRITICAL WRITING WORKSHOP

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

This four day workshop organised in collaboration with TAKE on Art magazine as part of the TAKE on Writing Series, is an outreach initiative to foster the practice of critical art writing on clay-based practices in India. The workshop is facilitated by Skye Arundhati Thomas, a writer and editor based in Mumbai, Raman Siva Kumar, an Indian contemporary art historian, art critic, and curator and Bhavna Kakar, editor of Take on Art Magazine. Skye Hughen Thomas invites participants to choose a single object as their focus, producing small portraits of chosen objects, where the writing may be fictional, literary, poetic or lyrical. The workshop, Writing Object hopes to expand the approach to objects in a gallery or a museum.

Raman Siva Kumar’s workshop Reading Art, Writing Thoughts takes K G Subramanyan’s terracotta murals and reliefs as a case study, and explores the challenges and possibilities of writing on individual works or a closely-knit body of works from different perspectives. These possibilities are explored through a plethora of discussions and writing sessions involving close reading and analysis of the artist’s work, and the participants’ response to them.

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CRITICAL WRITING WORKSHOP

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

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ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES Aarti Vir studied painting at the Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara and S N School, University of Hyderabad, and ceramics at the Golden Bridge Pottery, Puducherry. She was awarded the Charles Wallace India Trust scholarship and has apprenticed with Micki Schloessingk, Sandy Lockwood and Gwyn Hanssen Pigott. Aarti is based in Hyderabad and has been an artist-in-residence at the Gaya Ceramic Art Centre, Bali and at FLICAM, Fuping, China. She has exhibited in India, Japan, Australia, Bali, China, South Korea and the US. Adil Writer practiced architecture prior to training at the Golden Bridge Pottery, Puducherry in 1998. Currently a partner at Mandala Pottery in Auroville, he strikes a balance between making functional tableware and his own studio ceramics. Adil’s ceramics and large-scale unfired clay and acrylic paintings have been showcased at several solo and group exhibitions internationally. In 2013 Adil arranged a residency for eighteen Indian ceramicists to make artwork for the proposed Museum of Contemporary Indian Ceramics in Fuping, China. A recent milestone was the show In Collaboration with Laxma Goud, at Pundole Art Gallery in Mumbai. Adil is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, Geneva. Ajay Kanwal has a BFA in Sculpture from the Institute of Music and Fine

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Arts, Jammu and an MFA from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara, where he currently teaches sculpture. Ajay has won numerous grants from MSU and Lalit Kala Akademi. He received the Junior Fellowship from the Indian Ministry of Culture, the AIFACS Award and an HRD National Scholarship. Ajay has completed several art commissions all over India and has actively participated in solo and group shows in the UK, USA and India, and in camps in Baroda, Pondicherry, Jammu, New Delhi and Tripura. He was artist-in-residence at De Montfort University, England, UK in 2013. Anjani Khanna trained at Golden Bridge Pottery, Puducherry. She has been a resident artist in the US, Europe, China, Australia and India. Recipient of a Senior Fellowship from the Government of India, she also has grants from the India Foundation for the Arts and received a NCECA Multicultural Fellowship. An ARThink South Asia Fellow, a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, Geneva and a founder-director of the Contemporary Clay Foundation, her work is in international and Indian public and private collections. She writes on the Arts and has a degree from the University of Cambridge, UK. Her studio is in Alibag, across the Mumbai harbour. Antra Sinha has a BFA and MFA from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara,

and an MFA, with a STEM Fellowship, from Utah State University. As a teaching assistant at the Golden Bridge Pottery, Puducherry she attended and facilitated workshops by artists from around the world. Recipient of the JENESYS grant from the Japan Foundation, she was a resident artist at Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in Japan. She was also at Zentrum fur Keramik, Germany and GAYA CAC, Ubud, Bali. Antra assisted John Neely in Australia and has presented her work at several global ceramics conferences. In 2015 she received a Multicultural Fellowship from NCECA and was awarded the Caine College of the Arts Master Researcher of the Year in 2017. Ashwini Bhat (in collaboration with Forrest Gander) studied ceramics with Ray Meeker at Golden Bridge Pottery, Puducherry. She has a background in literature and dance. Her work has been featured in many galleries and publications in the US, India, Australia, Denmark, Ireland, China and Japan. In 2017, Ashwini was a Guest Artist at The Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in Shiga, Japan. She lives in Petaluma, California. Asim Paul has an MFA in Ceramics from the Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata. He uses the Lalit Kala Akademi’s Kolkata studio for ceramics, and paints in his private studio. He has spent several years in production design projects across India and

enjoys the challenges of working with space and light. For the past five years he has worked in site-specific Durga Puja temporary installation projects in Kolkata. He has had solo exhibitions and shown in major events in India, ArtIchol MP, and at the Lalit Kala Akademi. He has received recognition from the Government Art College, Kolkata, Indian Society of Oriental Art, Academy of Fine Arts and the Chemould Art Gallery, Kolkata. Atita Taware is based near Mumbai and has a BFA from Bharti Vidyapeeth College, Pune and an MFA from the J J School of Art, Mumbai. Atita has participated in various group shows and art festivals like IPEP 2017, Mumbai, Distant Mirrors in Switzerland, PratyaAgati, and Girls Only India, in Mumbai, Spot Art in Singapore and United Art Fair in Delhi. She received a fellowship from Futur Foundation, Switzerland and organised the exhibition Biophilia. Benitha Perciyal is a Chennai based artist with several solo shows to her credit. She is an alumni of the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai, with a BFA in Painting and an MFA in Printmaking. In 2015 she was nominated by Atul Dodiya and Gulam Mohammed Sheikh for the Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA) Amol Vadehra Art Grant. In 2014, she was invited to participate in the Kochi Biennale and 2016 in the Yinchaun Beinnale. Her work has been shown at Centre Pompidou and

is currently on show at the sculpture park in Madhavendra Palace, Jaipur. (BCB) The British Ceramics Biennial and its underpinning year-round programme of artists’ commissions, and community and education engagement projects, is delivered by The Clay Foundation, a registered charity set up in Stoke-on-Trent. Five BCB festivals have taken place since its inception in 2009 establishing the BCB as the largest ceramics event of its kind in the UK, supporting the collective vision for Stoke-on-Trent as an international centre of excellence for contemporary ceramics. Joanne Ayre, Rasika and Ramesh Hengadi and Barney Hare Duke are part of the team. Chetnaa (in collaboration with Rahul Kumar) completed her MFA in painting from the College of Art, Delhi. She has been part of several group shows in India and abroad and has two solo shows to her credit. Chetnaa has received the AIFACS Drawing Award and is a winner of the Emerging Artist of the Year award by Glenfiddich. She recently received a Special Mention award from SCZCC Nagpur. Chetnaa lives and works in Gurgaon. Danijela Pivašević-Tenner has a diploma from the University of Belgrade and an MFA from the Weissensee School of Art, Berlin. She is the artistic director of Ceramic Artist in Residence and Ceramic

Artist Exchange - Tandem, in Neumünster, Germany. A lecturer at the University of Kiel, curator of the 2nd International Ceramics Symposium Neumünster, and participant in Post-Colonialism? Israel, she has grants from Indonesia, the Peter Siemssen Foundation and the 8th International Ceramic Symposium, Römhild. She has awards from UNICUM 2018, Kellinghusen town and was a finalist for the Alen Müller Hellwig Art Award. Dipalee Daroz works out of her Delhi studio, practicing and researching within the ceramic medium. She has participated in numerous group shows including Mutable, Luminous, Transition / Tradition, and Digging Time. She has had four solo shows at Alliance Francaise, Pundole Art Gallery, Art Alive Gallery and Gallery Nvya. The recipient of a National Scholarship and a Junior Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture, she has received a Crafts Museum grant to study traditional Indian black pottery of Azamgarh. She was awarded the Charles Wallace grant to study in the UK. She participated in a residency program at Jingdezhen, China in 2008 and at the 2018 International Artists Symposium in Bihar. Élodie Alexandre is a ceramicist and illustrator based in Himachal Pradesh, India. Originally from France, she studied at the Cardiff School of Art & Design in

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ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES Wales. She holds a Ceramics BA and MA from Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK. Her degree show installation was chosen for a Rising Stars Award in London. Her work was selected for the 2011 British Ceramics Biennial and the 2015 Biennial of Ceramics in Belgium. She was artistin-residence at the Jakarta Contemporary Ceramics Biennale. Recently, Élodie has started exploring feminist concerns, where she brings the narrative dimension into her ceramic work. Ester Beck is based in Israel. She works in a free-style forming technique that she developed, after years of wheelwork, producing abstract sculptural forms. For pleasure and meditation, she still occasionally throws vessels on the wheel. She is a member of the Israel Ceramics Association, executive board member of the Benyamini Contemporary Cerami cs Centre in Tel-Aviv, and founder-director of the Benyamini Centre Ceramics Library and Archive of the History of Israeli Ceramics. A member of the International Academy of Ceramics, her work is in private and public collections in Israel, Australia, Korea, Ireland, Israel, Europe and the US. Forrest Gander (in collaboration with Ashwini Bhat) is a writer and translator with degrees in geology and literature, was born in the Mojave Desert and lives in Petaluma,

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California. Gander’s book, Core Samples from the World, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is the recipient of grants from the Library of Congress, the Guggenheim, Howard, Whiting and United States Artists Foundations. Forrest was the BriggsCopeland Poet at Harvard University and later the AK Seaver Professor of Literary Arts & Comparative Literature at Brown University. Ingrid Murphy was born in Cork, Ireland in 1969. An internationally exhibited artist, Ingrid uses traditional and digital processes to make interactive ceramic artifacts. She previously led the Ceramics Department at Cardiff School of Art & Design, and is currently its academic lead for trans-disciplinary teaching and research. Ingrid also leads the University’s Fab-Cre8 group for applied research in digital fabrication and physical computing. In 2015 Ingrid was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship for her contribution to art and design education. Ingrid divides her time between her home in Wales and her studio in South West France. Jacques Kaufmann studied ceramics at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs, Geneva (1974-1977), and later worked as chief of the Ceramic Action Project for the Swiss Cooperation in Rwanda. Rwanda was a life transforming experience, where cultural exchange and an approach of ‘back to origins’ ceramic technology involved working with bricks at an “earth scale”. Jacques

has taught and chaired the Department of Ceramics at the Ecole d’arts Appliqués, Vevey, Switzerland till 2014. Since 1999 he has been actively engaged with China at multiple levels. His most recent project is a ‘brick temple’ in India, built as homage to brick makers. Jacques is the president of the International Academy of Ceramics and has had numerous solo and group exhibitions worldwide. Jae Joon Lee studied ceramics and earned his MFA at the Department of Fine Arts at Hongik University in Seoul, Korea. He was awarded the Grand Prix at the 19th Seoul Contemporary Ceramic Art Competition and the Bronze Prize at 2011 IDEA Design Award. His work is represented in Korea at Daemyungcondo, W-shopping mall park, Korea Ceramic Foundation, Doosan Art Square ceramic facade, YIDO Pottery, and the Ceramic facade at Myeong-dong Hanabank. He has had six solo exhibitions and has participated in more than 170 group exhibitions. He was has a lecturered at Sanmyung University, Konkuk University, Namseoul University, Dankook University, Ewha Womans University, and Hongik University in Seoul, Korea. Currently he is a visiting Professor at Seoul Women’s University in Seoul, Korea. Jane Perryman (in collaboration with Kevin Flanagan) is an internationally recognised ceramicist, writer, photographer and filmmaker from England. Her practice has developed traditional pottery making

and firing techniques into a contemporary art form. She combines studio work with writing; her books are published in the UK, America, France and Germany. She exhibits, lectures and leads workshops internationally, and is represented in many public collections and museums. She has longstanding connections with India through extensive travel and research for her book Traditional Pottery of India and film Pottery Traditions of India as well as studying yoga with BKS Iyengar and teaching yoga. Jessika Edgar lives and works in Detroit, US. While her work is often in mixed-media, the most prominent material is clay. Jessika’s research explores contemporary popular culture and the influences of mass media in propagating consumption. She has exhibited nationally and internationally in venues such as Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, the Ceramic Research Center and Brickyard Gallery, Arizona State University, Tempe in the US and the Museo de Arte de Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Jessika has been a resident artist at The Banff Centre, Banff, Canada, a Post MFA Fellow at Ohio State University, Columbus, US and a resident at Guldagergaard: International Ceramic Research Centre in Denmark. Juree Kim has held four solo exhibitions since her graduation from Kyunghee University School of Sculpture. She has been invited to prestigious institutes such as the Victoria and

Albert Museum, Bernardo Foundation, Seoul Museum of Art, Song Eun Art Space, China Henan Museum and Sungkok Museum to work as resident artist and exhibit her work and videos. Several of these institutions also have her work in their collection. She is the recipient of the Grand Prize award at the The 2010 10th Song-Eun Art Award, South Korea. Juree has been invited to participated in numerous Beinnales and art festivals in England, China, Korea and Taiwan. Kate Malone is one of UK’s leading ceramicists with an illustrious career spanning thirty years. A regular contributor at specialist art events, and a judge on BBC2’s The Great Pottery Throw Down, Kate has had over ten solo show. Her work has been acquired by public and private collections all over the world, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Arts Council, UK. Kate has worked to make her artwork accessible to all levels and dedicates much time to sharing her expertise. She is a graduate of the Royal College of Art, London. Kevin Flanagan (in collaboration with Jane Perryman) comes from Lowell, Mass., US, and is interested in the intersection of contemporary music, jazz, and improvisation. He has put out two CDs with his group Riprap, and worked with ensembles, poets, filmmakers, painters and dancers in commissions from the TS Eliot Festival, John Clare Festival, Cambridge Festival of Ideas and many others. At Goldsmiths University his focus was

contemporary composition and he went on to study at Anglia Ruskin in Cambridge (where he lectures), and obtain a PhD in composition at the University of Sussex. Madhvi Subrahmanian trained with Ray Meeker in Puducherry and obtained her MFA from the US. Her work can be seen in several public collections including the Mumbai Domestic Airport, India, Shigaraki Ceramic Sculptural Park, Japan and Fule museum, China. Madhvi has also exhibited at museums in Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta, Henan and Singapore where she was commissioned to show her installation Ode to the Unknown. Represented by Gallery Chemould in Mumbai and a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, Geneva, she has been published in books and international journals, as well as featured on the cover of ART India Magazine. Neha Kudchadkar is a visual and performing artist based in Mumbai. She is a graduate of the Royal College of Art, London, and the Faculty of Fine Arts, Vadodara. Neha has shown her work in several group shows in India and abroad, including Postcolonialism? – a residency, symposium, and exhibition in Israel, and Pinch Your Thumb and Three Fingers, a solo exhibition at the Mumbai Art Room. She is a recipient of the Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarship and the Junior Fellowship, Government of India. Neha is founder-director of beej, a performing arts collective in Mumbai.

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ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES Nidhi Jalan has an MFA from Hunter College, New York, and trained with Ray Meeker and Michel Hutin in India and was recognized as an ‘Emerging Artist’ at NCECA 2010. Nidhi has been featured in Susan Peterson’s book Working with Clay. She received the Zankel Gift Award at Hunter College and was awarded a prize at the 55th edition of the International Competition of Ceramic Art, Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche (Italy). She has completed residencies at the Skowhegan (Maine), Henry Street (New York), Hunter College (New York) and at the European Ceramic Work Center (Holland). P R Daroz works in Gujarat and Delhi. His commissioned projects for large scale ceramics include public and private corporations across the world. He was honoured with the National Academy Award for ceramics by Lalit Kala Akademi, and for a luminous porcelain relief at the 2nd World Ceramics Triennale, Yugoslavia. He was also awarded a Medallion at the International Biennale, Portugal. He is a former member of the International Academy of Ceramics and participates in international artists’ workshops worldwide. He represented India in the 4th World Ceramic Biennale, Korea, the 2nd Beijing Art Triennial, China and the 3rd World Ceramic Triennial, Zagreb. Partha Dasgupta has a BVA from the Government Art College, Kolkata and an MFA in Ceramics from Visva Bharati, Santiniketan. His base in Kolkata provides an opportunity

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to explore an interest in installations and space design during the annual Durga Puja celebrations. He has collaborated with American artists and experimented with ceramic refractory props and 3D street paintings. Partha has been to art camps in Bahrain and Korea, held solo exhibitions and participated in major art events. A recipient of many research fellowships and grants from the Ministry of Culture and the Lalit Kala Akademi, he also works with Indian tribal communities. Priya Sunderavalli learnt ceramics from the late Felipe Ortega, a master from the Jicarilla Apache tradition, New Mexico, while pursuing her degree in industrial engineering from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She has been a resident artist at the Clayarch Gimhae Museum, South Korea and is currently an artist-in-residence at the European Ceramic Work Centre in the Netherlands. She has had several solo and group shows to her credit and her work has works have found place in several public art collections including the Gimhae Airport in Busan, South Korea and at the GVK Museum at the Chhatrapatti Shivaji Airport in Mumbai. Rahul Kumar (in collaboration with Chetnaa) completed his MFA from the US on a Fulbright Scholarship and received the Charles Wallace Award to study in the UK. He has had eight solo shows in the US and India, and his work has been auctioned at Sotheby’s London. A three-time recipient of

the AIFACS National Award, he received the Junior Fellowship from the Government of India. Rahul is an India Foundation for the Arts grantee. His work is in significant collections including the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.

Rakhee Kane studied painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Vadodara and has a Postgraduate diploma from National Institute of Design in Ceramics. Her early training was with Jyotsana Bhatt before she moved to Auroville, near Puducherry where she apprenticed with Ray Meeker and Deborah Smith at the Golden Bridge Pottery. She has been an artist-in-residence at the studios of several well-known ceramicists in cluding Jane Perryman and Ruthanne Tudball in the UK. She has participated in several international symposiums and workshops in the UK, China and South Korea and her work is in several prestigious art collections. Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, Sri Lankan-born artist based in Sydney has been gaining tremendous international recognition in recent years. His latest solo presentations at Dhaka Art Summit, Bangladesh and Encounters at Art Basel Hong Kong were very well received. He was the youngest artist in the history of National Gallery of Australia to have a solo exhibition where he exhibited Mud Men. Besides several museum shows Ramesh has exhibited at biennales such as Kuandu

Biennale, Taipei and Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Adelaide. He was the winner of the 2015 Sidney Myer Fund Award, and the 2014 NSW Visual Arts Fellowship. He has had several shows both in Australia and internationally. Ray Meeker, a student of architecture and ceramics from the University of Southern California, founded Golden Bridge Pottery in Puducherry with Deborah Smith fortyseven years ago. Ray’s prolific work ranges from “tea bowls to houses” to kiln building and monumental sculpture; Kyoto Protocol, Hegemony, Ozymandias and Passage being but a few examples. In recognition of his almost five-decade influence as a teacher and artist, he received a joint Outstanding Achievement Award with Deborah from NCECA this year. Still an explorer and making new work, he is developing India’s first Anagama kiln. His book Building with Fire was launched at the Triennale. Reyaz Badaruddin graduated in Ceramic Design from Banaras Hindu University in 2000. In 2009, he was awarded a Charles Wallace Fellowship to complete an MA attachment in Ceramics at Cardiff School of Art & Design, UK. Reyaz has participated in several national and international shows and residencies. His pieces are in the collection of the Mark Rothko Art Centre in Latvia, the FULE International Ceramic Museum in China and various other

public and private collections. In 2011, he was awarded the Junior Fellowship by the Government of India. Reyaz teaches ceramics and is bulding his studio in the Kangra valley in the Himalayas. Saraswati Renata Sereda was born in Russia in a family of ceramics professionals. She started playing with clay at a very early age, developing her whimsical style of colourful ceramic miniatures.Graduating from the Pedagogical University as a Russian language and literature teacher, she worked as a journalist for several years while keeping her love and connection to clay alive. She moved to India over a decade ago and has since been a full-time ceramicist and teacher. She has had solo and group exhibitions and participated in symposiums in India, Russia, and Belarus. Her work is in various private collections and museums worldwde. Satoru Hoshino is based in Japan and graduated from Ritsumeikan University. Satoru has multiple awards from Japan and conducts workshops worldwide. He was an associate professor at the Environment Design department of Osaka Sangyo University. He has had several solo exhibitions in prestigious museums such as The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, the Musée Ariana, Geneva, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota

among others. His work is in many public and private collections. Savia Mahajan lives and works in Mumbai. Originally a painter, Savia’s practice has moved away from the medium of painting, towards ceramics. Working at a local pottery studio in Mumbai, she has experimented extensively to develop her ceramic processes. Liminal, her first solo exhibition at TARQ in 2017 showcased several of these processes. Her work a was part of Mutable: Ceramic and Clay Art in India since 1947 at the Piramal Museum of Art and was also featured at Sensorium 2018: The End Is Only the Beginning, in Goa. Shalini Dam decided to change track after a two-decade long career in advertising and did her Masters in Ceramics from Cardiff School of Art & Design, Wales, UK. She lives in a remote village in Himachal Pradesh where she recently built a small studio. Over the last three years she has shown her work at Mrittika 3, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, CretaYuga, Argilla, Faenza, Italy, Ex-Tempore, Zagreb, Croatia, All India Studio Potters’ Exhibition, AIFACS, Porcelain 2018, Visual Art Gallery, IHC, Delhi. In 2017 she was awarded the second prize at the 20th All India Studio Pottery Exhibition organised by AIFACS. Shampa Shah locates her practice in clay in the dialogue between the traditional

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and the modern and it overlaps with her writing and curating. In a three-decadelong journey, she has exhibited widely in India and abroad. She established the Ceramic Section at Indira Gandhi National Museum of Man (IGRMS), Bhopal and headed it for over two decades. At the IGRMS, Shampa curated important exhibitions around mythology, tribal, folk, and contemporary art and craft practices including the permanent exhibition Mythological Trail. A five-time recipient of the AIFACS Award, she has also received the Junior National Fellowship of Ministry of Human Resources and of Roopankar Bharat Bhavan. She publishes on contemporary art and storytelling traditions of India and has many publications including Tribal Arts and Crafts of Madhya Pradesh.

based in New Mexico, she moderated a panel on cultural appropriation at NCECA, was recently elected to the International Academy of Ceramics.

Sharbani Das Gupta, a Visual Arts graduate from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, studied ceramics at Golden Bridge Pottery, Puducherry. She was a participant in 50 Women at NCECA’s 50th anniversary, and her work has been exhibited in China, Greece, UK, Australia, India, and in the US. She has been awarded several international artist-residencies, most recently in Israel in PostColonialism? An artist and writer, her work is featured in The Art and Craft of Clay by Jan Peterson, and several ceramic journals. Currently

Shitanshu Maurya graduated with a BFA and MFA in Ceramics from the College of Arts and Crafts, Lucknow University. He has received several awards such as the National Academy Award, a research grant from Lalit Kala Akademi and Best Exhibit award from AIFACS. Shitanshu also received the Young Artist Scholarship from the Ministry of Culture. He has been invited to several artist residencies such as the IndoKorean residency, Chennai, Nomadic India residency at the Clayarch Museum, South Korea and a residency at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. He has participated

Shirley Bhatnagar, currently based between Delhi and Jaipur, Shirley Bhatnagar, graduated from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, majoring in Industrial Ceramics. Since then she has worked on many public and private commissions. Shirley has headed the Fired Material Application discipline at the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design, Jaipur, and currently she is visiting faculty in several leading design colleges in India. Shirley works on projects focusing on the revival of traditional crafts. She has four solo exhibitions to her credit and numerous group shows.

in several solo and group shows in India, Korea, Latvia and China. Sukhdev Rathod received his art education at M S University, Vadodara. He now lives and works near Murud Janjira in Maharashtra. Sukhdev has participated in several group shows in India and abroad. He is the recipient of the Nasreen Mohammadi Scholarship and Award in 2002 and 2003. He has worked as an apprentice to wellknown artists such as Bhupen Khakhar, Gulam Mohammed and Nilima Sheikh in Vadodara, B V Suresh in Mumbai as well as Ray Meeker in Pondicherry. He has several large-scale architectural murals to his credit. Tallur L N lives and works in-between Kundapur in Karnataka and South Korea. He received the Skoda Prize for Indian Contemporary Art in 2012. His work was featured at the first edition of the KochiMuziris Biennale in 2012. He has a BFA in Painting from Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts, MFA in Museology from Maharaja Sayajirao University and an MA in Contemporary Fine Art Practice from Leeds Metropolitan University. He shows nationally and internationally, most recently at the Sculpture Park at Madhavendra Palace, Jaipur, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum, CSMVS Museum, Mumbai and National Museum, New Delhi. His upcoming survey exhibition at Grounds for Sculpture in 2019 is a pivotal point.

Thukral and Tagra work collaboratively with a range of media including painting, sculpture, installations, interactive games, video, performance, and design. Eschewing a mediated narrative, they seek to expand the scope of art through multi-modal sensory and immersive environments and new formats of public engagement. They have had solo exhibitions in New Delhi, Berlin, Mumbai, New York, Seoul, Singapore and Beijing. Their work has been included in many group exhibitions, including at the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Essl Museum, Vienna, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, and Centre Pompidou, Paris, among many others. They have been commissioned to create several works around the world. Triveni Prasad Tiwari is a gold medalist in Pottery Ceramic and Design from Banaras Hindu University. He works at the Garhi Centre, Lalit Kala Akademi, Delhi and has participated in several group shows in Delhi and Mumbai, and in the 56th National Exhibition of Art by the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi in 2014-15. His first solo show, BEEJAK…Search for Soil was in 2016 at LKA, New Delhi. He won the AIFACS, New Delhi award thrice, and the Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation, Mumbai award in Ceramics and Painting. In 2017 he had participated in a National Artist Camp for Ceramics in Delhi. Vineet Kacker studied ceramics at the Andretta Pottery in Himachal Pradesh, and

the Golden Bridge Pottery in Puducherry. He has been a resident artist at the Anderson Ranch Arts Centre, Colorado, and the Northern Clay Centre, Minnesota, as well as the University of Wales Institute, U.K. He is the recipient of the Charles Wallace Fellowship and the Fulbright grant. His work is a part of several collections - Ariana Museum Switzerland, Mark Rothko Centre, Latvia, Museum of Contemporary Ceramics, Icheon, Korea, Indian Ceramics Museum at Fuping, China, and the archival collection at Aberystwyth, UK. He is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics. Vipul Kumar received his MFA degree in Sculpture from Banaras Hindu University in 1995. He is the recipient of the Junior and Senior Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Vipul participated as a stone sculptor in two national camps, as well as in an IndoJapanese sculpture symposium. Working in both stone and ceramics, Vipul has had the opportunity to participate in several group shows all over India. His most recent solo exhibition was at the Lalit Kala Academi, New Delhi. His work is a part of several private and public collections, including the Mumbai International Airport and at Art Ichol, Madhya Pradesh.

where he developed award-winning architectural concepts for civic institutions and adivasi crafts. His undergraduate thesis focus was on the natural acoustics of the Kuthambalam theatres of the south. During his time at college he was a bass guitarist for the alternative rock band On Second Thought. Currently he is adjunct faculty at the School of Environmental Design and Architecture (SEDA), Vadodara. He regularly conducts workshops at institutions across the country and also teaches drawing. He is a founding member of Clay Club Innovations Ahmedabad, a collaborative design team that develops ceramics for architects, designers and artists.

Vishnu Thozhur Kolleri is an emerging artist and architect. He received his professional training at CEPT, Ahmedabad

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based in New Mexico, she moderated a panel on cultural appropriation at NCECA, was recently elected to the International Academy of Ceramics.

Vishnu Thozhur Kolleri is an emerging artist and architect. He received his professional training at CEPT, Ahmedabad

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ANJANI KHANNA | MADHVI SUBRAHMANIAN | NEHA KUDCHADKAR REYAZ BADARUDDIN | SHARBANI DAS GUPTA | VINEET KACKER

We are grateful for the enthusiasm and encouragement of the clay community in supporting this inaugural iteration of the Indian Ceramics Triennale, Breaking Ground 2018. The contribution of the participating artists has been immense with all artists wholeheartedly seizing the opportunity the Triennale afforded to produce new work and push boundaries. The Advisory Committee comprising Peter Nagy, Pooja Sood and Ray Meeker have been wonderful sounding boards lending wisdom and perspective. Peter also used his huge experience in mounting the exhibition for us. Special thanks to our partner Akshara Foundation of Arts and Learning for administrative support and for organising the schools outreach programme Arts for All at Breaking Ground. Trustees Mridula Chakraborty and Vaibhavi Kunal have provided invaluable guidance.

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We received enthusiastic support from patrons Sangita Jindal, Khanjan and Shradhavi Dalal, and Dr. Pheroza J Godrej. The INLAKS Shivdasani Foundation and Amita Malkani put their faith in the project by supporting five of the younger artists. Ambika Beri of Art Ichol facilitated the making of Satoru Hoshinoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work in India. The Indian Institute of Crafts and Design, Jaipur through their dynamic director Toolika Gupta and Mangesh Afre, Head of the Ceramics department also come forward to offer invaluable studio support to the artists from the British Ceramics Biennial. Interns from IICD did

a wonderful job on the ground, helping artists as they worked on their projects. We are delighted that the Charles Wallace India Trust will support an Indian artist at the British Ceramics Biennial. Rathi Jafer from the InKo Centre explored numerous avenues to ensure that two artists from Korea could join us at Breaking Ground. Other agencies like the Japan Foundation, Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council, the Embassy of Israel, the British Council and the Institut FranĂ§ais en Inde generously facilitated the participation of artists and scholars at the event. Ganesh Manickavasagam of Clay Station, Bangalore and Vandita Vijayvergiya from Clay County, Jaipur took on the onerous task of providing world-class equipment and clay for the visiting artists. Dileep Industries Pvt Ltd, Jaipur also generously provided us materials. The Piramal Art Museum, the India Art Fair, G5A and Mumbai Gallery Weekend offered us platforms to introduce the Triennale and the artists to wider audiences in Mumbai and Delhi. Maryola Da Silva and Writer Relocations have provided invaluable logistical assistance while Impressive Events Hub Pvt. Ltd. provided on-theground installation support.All the staff at Jawahar Kala Kendra patiently offered their support when needed most.We are thankful to Sangeeta Kapila for her consistent work, and Leena Lala and Djena Sunavala for their guidance. Lastly, we could not have achieved this without the ever cheerful and tremendous effort of our exhibition coordinator and friend Kanika Anand.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ANJANI KHANNA | MADHVI SUBRAHMANIAN | NEHA KUDCHADKAR REYAZ BADARUDDIN | SHARBANI DAS GUPTA | VINEET KACKER

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ABOUT US JAWAHAR KALA KENDRA Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) is an arts centre located in Jaipur designed by one of India’s greatest architects, Charles Correa. Regarded as one of his finest works, the JKK is a masterpiece of architectural beauty and symmetry, providing an inspiring backdrop and framework for Breaking Ground 2018. Under the dynamic directorship of Pooja Sood, the JKK complex, including its art galleries, library, and auditorium were reopened after being refurbished with state-of-the-art facilities. The JKK has been instrumental in bringing to Jaipur high quality art exhibitions, performing arts and literary programmes such as Navras, a week-long performing arts festival, Jaipur Photo, an annual international photography festival, Bookaroo, a children’s literature festival, and Thirak, a classical dance festival. CONTEMPORARY CLAY FOUNDATION The Contemporary Clay Foundation is a not for-profit-organisation set up to promote ceramic arts practices and support practitioners through exhibitions, workshops, international and national exchanges and residencies. The aim of the organisation is to build informed audiences for ceramic art through lectures, workshops, and exhibitions as well as to raise the visibility of contemporary ceramics in India. The Indian Ceramics Triennale exemplifies the vision of the Foundation in pursuing creative excellence. AKSHARA FOUNDATION OF ARTS AND LEARNING Akshara Foundation of Arts and Learning (AFAL) is a not-for-profit public trust based in Mumbai. Founded in 2007 by professionals from education and the arts, with the aim of integrating the arts and education. The arts are integral to learning and nurture the young to become sensitive and compassionate adults. It is important to create opportunities for a variety of arts interventions at different levels. With this belief, AFAL has joined hands with the Contemporary Clay Foundation to create and execute the children’s programme Arts for All atBreaking Ground, at the first edition of the Indian Ceramics Triennale, Breaking Ground 2018.

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ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR GENERAL (ADM.) Member Secretary

SH. RAM SAHAY SH. PUNEET SAINI

GOVERNING COUNCIL

ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR GENERAL (TECH.)

SMT. VASUNDHARA RAJE HON’BLE CHIEF MINISTER Chairperson

Members SR. ACCOUNT OFFICER SMT. BHARTI KHER SMT. MITA KARUR SHRI PRAMOD K G SMT. MANISHA AGARWAL

CONTEMPORARY CLAY FOUNDATION

HON’BLE MINISTER ART & CULTURE Deputy Chairperson ADDITIONAL CHIEF SECRETARY Ex-Officio Member Art & Culture PRINCIPAL SECRETARY FINANCE Ex-Officio Member CHAIRMAN EX-Officio Member Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademy Jodhpur CHAIRMAN Ex- Officio Member Rajasthan Lalit Kala Akademy Jaipur DIRECTOR GENERAL Member Secretary

Members Dr. SARYU DOSHI MS. AMAL ALLANA SH. SUNIL MUNJAL SH. SUBODH GUPTA SH. AMBRISH ARORA MS. PHEROZA GODREJ SH. SALIL SINGHAL SH. ASHOK KAJARIA SH. ANIL RAI GUPTA SH. VIKRAM GOLCHA PADAMSHRI VISHWA MOHAN BHATT SH. MUKUND LATH EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE DIRECTOR GENERAL JKK Chairperson SMT. MEERA MEHRISHI Deputy Chairperson

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JAWAHAR KALA KENDRA TEAM

CURATORIAL TEAM Anjani Khanna Vineet Kacker Sharbani Das Gupta Madhvi Subrahmanian Reyaz Badaruddin Neha Kudchadkar

SMT. POOJA SOOD Director General

EXHIBITION COORDINATOR Kanika Anand

SH. MANISH MATHUR Additional Director General, (Tech.)

OUTREACH COORDINATOR Sangeeta Kapila

SMT. ANURADHA SINGH Additional Director General, (Tech.)

CONSULTATION Khanjan Dalal

PROGRAMME TEAM SH. ABDUL LATEEF USTA SH. CHHAVI JOSHI SMT BABITA MADAN SMT KANUPRIYA MATHUR

EVENT INTERNS AND VOLUNTEERS

ADMINISTRATION SH. SURAJ PRAKASH MEENA SMT MALTI MISHRA SH. RAJENDRA PRASAD SHARMA SH. ASHOK K. BUNDELA SH. HEMANT KANVARIA SH. ANIL CHAUDHARY SH. RAMPAL KUMAWAT SHRI RAJKUMAR AJMERA SH. SUMER SINGH SHRI ARJUN LAL MEENA SH. NITESH MEENA SHRI BHAIRU LAL JANGID SH. BHARAT SINGH SH. RAJEEV RATHORE SH. TILAK RAJ SH. NAHAR SINGH SH. VIJAY SHARMA

Plan illustration by Janavi Sanon

OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR GENERAL JAWAHAR KALA KENDRA

Rashi Jain Aayushi Raicha Arundhati Mitra Ayush Kesarwani Garvita Anchaliya Mrinalini Bedi Sukriti Ambastha Babulal Prajapati Mukesh Supriya Vinita Jain Huang Dongmei Nie Humei Chen Qiuze Weng Yuting Lee In Wook Park Doyeon Divyanshi Baderiya Janavi Sanon

LOGISTICS

Writers Relocations

EVENT MANAGEMENT

Impressive Events Hub Pvt. Ltd.

GRAPHIC DESIGN Ragini Singh Sharbani Das Gupta

EXHIBIT PLAN

PHOTOGRAPHY Shine Bholla Reyaz Badaruddin Triennale Artists

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ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR GENERAL (ADM.) Member Secretary

SH. RAM SAHAY SH. PUNEET SAINI

GOVERNING COUNCIL

ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR GENERAL (TECH.)

SMT. VASUNDHARA RAJE HON’BLE CHIEF MINISTER Chairperson

Members SR. ACCOUNT OFFICER SMT. BHARTI KHER SMT. MITA KARUR SHRI PRAMOD K G SMT. MANISHA AGARWAL

CONTEMPORARY CLAY FOUNDATION

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JAWAHAR KALA KENDRA TEAM

CURATORIAL TEAM Anjani Khanna Vineet Kacker Sharbani Das Gupta Madhvi Subrahmanian Reyaz Badaruddin Neha Kudchadkar

SMT. POOJA SOOD Director General

EXHIBITION COORDINATOR Kanika Anand

SH. MANISH MATHUR Additional Director General, (Tech.)

OUTREACH COORDINATOR Sangeeta Kapila

SMT. ANURADHA SINGH Additional Director General, (Tech.)

CONSULTATION Khanjan Dalal

PROGRAMME TEAM SH. ABDUL LATEEF USTA SH. CHHAVI JOSHI SMT BABITA MADAN SMT KANUPRIYA MATHUR

EVENT INTERNS AND VOLUNTEERS

Plan illustration by Janavi Sanon

OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR GENERAL JAWAHAR KALA KENDRA

LOGISTICS

Writers Relocations

EVENT MANAGEMENT

Impressive Events Hub Pvt. Ltd.

GRAPHIC DESIGN Ragini Singh Sharbani Das Gupta

EXHIBIT PLAN

PHOTOGRAPHY Shine Bholla Reyaz Badaruddin Triennale Artists

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www,indianceramicstriennale.com

138 indianceramicstriennale@gmail.com

CATALOGUE DESIGN SHARBANI DAS GUPTA

Spine

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