Herend, Royal Stuart Harlequin, Wedgwood , Royal Albert and Winton Porcelain Roses, Jesmonite, White Base, Resin
135 H x 37 W cm
Price: £13,750 inc. VAT
Sandra Shashou, a Brazilian-born British artist, is renowned for creating artwork using porcelain tea-ware as her signature material. She incorporates collecting into her artistic process by sourcing the finest vintage and antique porcelain to repurpose into her sculptures.
She is known for her innovative approach to breaking and re-assembling porcelain fragments to create dynamic and visually striking pieces. Shashou conceptualises lived experiences such as destruction, reconstruction, bravery, courage, and rebuilding. Antique porcelain perfectly captures the unpredictable, fragile, and precarious emotions of the human condition.
Playing with strength, tenuousness, and balance, the delicacy of the porcelain is the centre of Shashou’s work. Her Towers of reengineered pots, jugs, cups, saucers and flowers, balanced uncertainly and at challenging angles, create a juxtaposition between the physical and emotional. They stand tall, full of colour, wit, and optimism. Yet an underlying vulnerability questions whether this can be undisputed. The hazardous arrangements challenge equilibrium. Stacked precariously, it appears that at any moment, everything could sway, slip, and tumble. Each Tower acts as both a reflection and a contrast. A delicate exterior conceals an indestructible interior of steel, adhesive and composite, challenging the societal preference for outward strength over inner vulnerability.
Shashou’s art often blurs the lines between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary art, making her pieces thought-provoking and visually captivating. Antique porcelain objects are no longer for drinking or pouring. They have been transformed, and are now valued for their varied shapes, colours, and the order in which they have been placed. Patrick Davies - May 2024
