Paul Davis
Slab Platter Series
Using his own Kagero or ‘heat haze’ clay and his own Hagi style rice husk ash glaze (and Oribe style glazes on other platters), Paul Davis is creating a series which is, to the casual Australian observer, distinctively Japanese and yet simultaneously distinctively Australian to his Japanese peers.
The influences are evident, and the outcome is a distinctively bold yet understated Australian synthesis made possible by our geography and history. To use another distinctively Australian understatement, “they’re not too bad!” – so much so that the National Gallery of Australia has acquired one of the series for its collection.
Artist Statement on the Series
As an Australian who has worked in Japan and who has a strong connection with the Japanese aesthetic, I seek to strike a distinctive new connection between the two cultures.
The sheer size and boldness of my developing plate forms speak of the vast scale and ancient folding of this continent. The surfaces, while based on layers of tradition related to my time in Hagi, are the languages of the rhythms of moving waters which at one time carved and layered the sediments on which we stand.
The physicality of the pieces reflects my approach to my materials, direct and intimate at the same time. Beginning with massive slabs, I carve, push and pull in ways which reflect the long insistent geological processes and yet at the same time freeze the energy of moving water which was the one of the primary forces that shaped the earth.
April 2006
Large Hagi Platter - Detail
130 x 570 x 570 mm
Hand-made carved and altered slab form with brushed iron decoration and Hagi glaze.
Kuro Chawan (Tea Bowl)with Lustre
60 x 145 mm
Wheel-thrown with black Kuro glaze and lustre decoration.
Ikebana Vase
85 x 215 x 130 mm
Hand-built with brushed iron decoration and Hagi glaze.
| |
