The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 53 No 1 April 2014

Association
The Trudie Alfred
Bequest Follow Up 2013
Verney Burness
Bachelor of Visual Arts (Ceramics Major) at ANU, Canberra
My final undergraduate year was a sustained engagement w ith the materiality of clay: the inherent
relationship between clay, geological forms and natural forces. I spent 2013 creating forms inspired by
rocks, mountains and their detritus; invoking ideas of fragmentation, breakage, and sedimentation, and
encouraging the viewer to contemplate and reflect upon their relationship to nature as creative and
destructive agents.
I used processes of freezing, superheating, reforming and breaking many different clay types
using the natural forces that form the continually changing landscape. I also experimented with
unconventional processes such as raw firing, exploding works in the kiln and layering glaze within the
clay body before breaking and firing. Many of these techniques were developed on a rewarding trip
to Jingdezhen (China) in April with the Australian National University Ceramics Workshop, where I was
able to spend time within a vibrant ceramics culture as well as expand my international network. These
experimentations invited the integration of the moving image to document 'smashing events'. I was an
unknowing performer within the work but also an agent within its processes of change. I also began to
use photography, light and glass in the installation space, experimenting in an exhibition context.
The Trudie Alfred
Bequest Ceramic
Scholarship was vital to my
achievements during 2013.
Funding of this nature
allows students to grow
and develop with pride and
independence. My thanks
go to The Australian
Ceramics Association and
to Trudie Alfred.
Verney Burness
Sky Crevasse, 2013
Porcelain on glass
Various dimensions
Photo: James Allen
124 THE JOURNAL Of AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS APRIL 2014