Phase transition

Porcelain and oxides

190cm diameter x 33cm

Phase Transition is a large floor standing, self-supporting ring of porcelain, made up of 16 individual pieces, when installed nearly 2m diameter. 

The title refers to the physical processes of transition between a state of a medium, such as solid, liquid and gas. This work particularly relates to the polar pulls between the states of liquid and solid. It is a kinetic response to the natural processes of the planet in the Anthropocene era, the forces that humanity has no power to control, and the relief and release of relinquishing control. We begin in fluid and continue to seep throughout our lives, until the moment that the blood cools and solidifies and the body becomes rigid. 

The making process involves liquid porcelain poured over specially made plaster molds, to create an unrepeated and unrepeatable movement. Tiny quantities of oxides are mixed into the porcelain to create subtle shifts in colour across the sections. To enable the fabrication of curved, self-supporting structures, specially made cast refractory concrete structures support the porcelain in the kiln during firing.