The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 53 No 2 July 2014

Focus: Emerging
From Paint to Clay
Caterina Leone talks with Ben Quilty about his recen t cerami c work
Caterina Leone: Why did you choose to work in ceram ics?
Ben Ouilty: Clay and paint are probably the first mediums you play around with as a child; clay is a
fundamental medium for an artist. I've always mucked around w ith clay though I've never actually fired
anything. Well, that's not entirely true, as I have used clay to then cast and pour bronze moulds. The
Encouragement Award (bronze, 2010) was made from oil-based modelling clay and cast in bronze, so
this project was an extension of that. Obviously, the finished artwork has come about through other's
expertise, not mine, but I knew that I wanted the object to be in porcelain rather than bronze, to mimic
the original object.
CL: So it seems as though these works could only have been realised in clay ...
SO: The material is integral to the original object and idea. It is a very material-specific project and
working in ceramics, with porcelain, was the only way that the idea could have even been formed, let
alone realised . The original objects weren 't porcelain; they were quite cheap, stoneware I think, so I
wanted to actually make them more culturally important, more refined, more expensive, but actually
destroy the functionality of the object at the same time, turning them into art. That raises a funny,
fundamental question about the nature of art - you actually have to destroy the functionality of
something and use more expensive materials to make it and then it becomes art. But I think that's the
thing ... it still does have a function; its function is as a messenger, a storyteller; so it really has a far
more important function than it had before.
CL: Your work then really makes that functional/non-functional idea ...
BO: Dumb!
CL: Well it certainly eliminates it.
SO: It's not true at all. The function is to inform and create debate, and these works, I hope, do exactly
that.
CL: Is it strange to work with so many other people and processes not entirely in your control? That
must be different to painting.
BO: Good question. Alexandra (Alex) Standen really facilitated the whole thing, as well as being an
inspiration . Seeing and appreciating her work prompted me to start thinking of a project I could do that
involved porcelain. The way she uses porcelain, in a way treats it with such irreverence, giving it a whole
new life ... made me think, " I want to use porcelain " . And so then Alex said that she wanted to be
involved, and from there it got out of control! That amazing Somchai Charoen got involved, the most
humble and clever man, to make the moulds and then finally Louise Martiensen ended up doing the
final firings and decals. So it was certa inly a big group effort, a real collaboration. My idea was the start
of the project, then all I really did was model the first object with modelling clay, and then it was swept
out of my hands and those very clever people basically remade the original object into what it is now.
CL: How is working in clay different to painting?
SO: I very much knew what they were going to look like as completed works, and I started with an
THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS JULY 2014 59