HARVEST by Mella Shaw
Slip-cast, press-moulded and smoke-fired ceramics, 2017/18 Across the globe the seabed is littered with ceramic vessels left there by thousands of years of human history – but in recent decades, plastic, similarly durable and cheap to produce, has superseded this natural material. The effect has been devastating and plastic pollution now threatens the very life of our oceans. Without drastic change, by 2050 there is predicted to be a greater weight of plastic in the oceans than fish. HARVEST consists of fish and ‘plastic’ containers, all made entirely out of clay, to represent this fast-approaching tipping point
ABOUT MELLA SHAW
With a background in anthropology and a former career in museums and galleries, Mella makes clay objects and installations that address reoccurring environmental themes of balance, tipping-points, fragility and loss.
IMAGES
Header image shows: HARVEST_ 2018 by Mella Shaw © Sophie Mutevelian
First content image shows: HARVEST_ detail 2018 by Mella Shaw © Andrew Norman
Second content image shows: HARVEST_2018 Jumping Fish detail