Sustainable Ceramics #1

Sustainable Ceramics #1 focuses on recycled, repaired and reactivated ceramics. The exhibition includes works by Kerstin Abraham (Germany, 1956), Alix Arto (Switzerland, 1994), Olivia Barisano (France, 1982), Thelma Boateng (Netherlands, 1994), Jie Chen (China, 1988), Nicole Chrysikou (Greece, 1992), Sara Howard (UK, 1997), Katrine Køster Holst (Denmark, 1979), Cleo Mussi (UK, 1965), Benedetta Pompili (Italy, 1995), Caroline Slotte (Finland, 1975), Bart Vernooij (Netherlands, 1996), and others. The exhibition involved a special collaboration with Indian visual artist and curator, Neha Kudchadkar and Dutch-Chinese designer, Jie Chen.

While recycling and repairing ceramics is an established creative practice, as curator the question of sustainability necessarily extends to exhibition making – for example reducing transport of acquisitions and commissioned works, and recycling exhibition display materials. Sustainable exhibition making also extends to working with the lack of storage facilities for Princessehof artworks, and ‘recycling’ and reactivating works from our permanent collection of approximately 45 000 items. Kudchadkar was commissioned to make three new works and a soundscape that engage with storytelling and highlight a selection of previously unseen art works from our permanent collection. They object Kudchadkar selected include an early South American terracotta forms (figurine, stirrup jar, vase etc), an ancient Babylonian inscribed brick, Iranian (pre-Islamic) bull sculpture, anonymous tiles, among many other items. These works are made by unknown makers and most have no accompanying information. The legacy of this project is the production of a new level of information about these newly (re)discovered works in the permanent collection.