Challenging The Perception And Materiality Of Porcelain
Aiming to “push the limits” of porcelain, designer Alissa Volchkova’s work illustrate themes such as the beauty of irregularity in form, a bridge between the past and present and a strong interaction with users and their social norms and traditions.
This week we are highlighting ‘The beautiful imperfect’ series, which was presented at our White Canvas exhibition.
Continue reading to discover how Volchkova creates these unqiue vessels…
The Beautiful Unperfect, White Canvas Exhibtion © Inge Clemente
Alissa Volchkova is a Franco-Russian designer based in London. After several years of experience in architecture, she changed the scale of her projects to produce objects. Her work explores the industrial processes of production in a poetic way, revealing their uniqueness, and developing the potential of different materials, with a particular attraction for ceramics and glass. That mission is more than evident in ‘The Beautiful Unperfect’ series, a project that uses the familiar form of a Wedgwood vase to make an almost existential comment about entropy in the design process.
The Beautiful Unperfect © Sylvain Deleu
These vessels elegantly depict the cycle of growth and decay. They are inversely proportional to one another, occurring simultaneously. The beauty of the project is the transition between the pieces.
“By revisiting an antique Wedgwood object, my aim was to create a bridge between the past and the future, symbolising the human and environmental mutations through the process of making – imitating the life cycle.”
The Beautiful Unperfect © Sylvain Deleu
To create these impressive vessels Volchkova carves progressively into the plaster mould of the original vase, she transforms the vase until it disappears behind its new skin. The mould – usually used for many years and never changing – is here progressively disintegrating, whereas the shape coming out of it is expanding. The industrial, predictable and repetitive process of moulding – normally used to make an infinite number of identical objects, is here paradoxically creating irregular and unique objects.
The Beautiful Unperfect © Alissa Volchkova
The Beautiful Unperfect, White Canvas Exhibition © Inge Clemente
By disrupting this perfect image of porcelain objects Volchkova has created the complete opposite of what is considered a luxury object. it is evident that she is more interested in the process here, rather than in the final product; the result always ends in a surprise.
The Beautiful Unperfect, White Canvas Exhibition © Inge Clemente
Alissa Volchkova should be commended for her innovative designs, experimenting with materials to create new and unique forms. For any further information please contact info@mintshop.co.uk