Dean Coates

MA Ceramics

Igneous Futures

My practice is rooted in anxiety instigated by the accelerating effects of the Anthropocene. Humans face challenging futures in a polluted world with diminishing resources and extreme climates. Human extinction is highly probable. I imagine a future Earth where humans are absent but their legacy remains.

Using hand-forming and digital cutting techniques I create ceramic objects and vistas that record traces of the Anthropocene. I think of them as geological remnants or techno-fossils – evidence of human existence and our relentless unsustainable anthropocentric activities.

I imagine future visitors to Earth stumbling across these techno-fossils and attempting to interpret our history much like the Victorian palaeontologists unpicked the histories of deep time from the fragmented fossilised remains of extinct flora and fauna.

Other Exhibitors:

Josephine Phillips

Josephine Phillips

"I create narratives which draw upon a precarious, dormant underworld. These brightly coloured figures gently ooze and slip, creating a tension that is both dark and humorous. Unsettling characters play out a scenario full of secrecy, inviting the viewer to bear...

Wenqing Chen

Wenqing Chen

"I am interested in breaking the visual and thinking habits in people's daily life, referencing different materials to recreate familiar objects. A combination of elements: Woolen yarn Rope winding Stacking sticks Torn paper Collage fabric Hanging chain Explain the...

Sarah E H M H Dashti

Sarah E H M H Dashti

Reincarnation of a sound wave into a ceramic sound creature medium, airing the manifestation of coruscating vibrant color energy, with a performance of graceful motion of choreographed layers.

Kim Colebrook

Kim Colebrook

"We see, we read – but do we question, or do we take the traditional, obvious interpretation unchallenged? Can we be encouraged to seek alternate meanings, inspired to look beyond the narrow line that often divides, to find a new way of looking? A hole is both the...

Ross Anthony Andrews

Ross Anthony Andrews

"‘Architecture begins when you place two bricks carefully together’ Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. 1959   This fundamental link between ceramics and architecture offers the medium expansive possibilities. My designs offer such a blue-print process that can be modified to...

Georgina Allen

Georgina Allen

In this series of sculptural vessels I explore, material, mark making and the suggestion of family. This act of production, with reference to traditional pottery, has provided a platform for me to express my ideas. This reference to a domestic dining gathering sets up...