iara talledo violani - The Fixed & The Mutable

Inspired by the modernist SESC Pompeia building in São Paulo, on one of my visits with my Brazilian family, I recall hearing that the shapes of the windows had been “randomly smashed out by a sledgehammer.” This “chaotic” and “unpredictable” approach to create something unique has been my driving force throughout the project, challenging my natural gravitation towards perfection and perfectionism.

After creating individual elements on the potter’s wheel, I reject the customary gentleness with which people treat soft, newly thrown pieces and collide them to create colourful collages. This method creates unique piles of shapes where I cannot predict how the clay will collapse and deform into each other upon contact.

By working through this project, I have avoided falling into the vicious cycle of seeking perfection – something unattainable – and relaxed into working more intuitively.

This work has been shown at the University of Brighton’s 2023 BA degree show, at New Designers in London and ‘Confrontation Constellation’ and ‘Factory’ were shown at Atelier Beside the Sea as part of Open Atelier.