JO HOBAN

Jo is a Brisbane-based emerging ceramic artist. Having grown up in a musical family, she is innately curious about how people express their creativity. Jo began experimenting with clay in 2013 taking regular lessons at Brisbane’s Institute of Art for a number of years. She now works from her home studio and focuses on handbuilding vessels with a quiet, sculptural quality; the finality of each object contrasts with the constant cyclic nature of today’s busy world, and the building process offers time with her thoughts to try and make sense of it. “I think delighting in beauty amid everyday experience is important and handcrafted ceramics really stoke my inner fire. Handbuilding is a cathartic, meditative experience and the objects I make are embedded with love.”

Artist Statement – Vase & Vessel

Researching Morandi imagery led me to favour certain forms. With ideas of these in mind, I handbuilt six pieces, all of them inevitably taking on their own character while referencing Morandi. As the group developed one piece at a time, I considered Morandi’s devotion to still life; the value of comtemplating the same objects in different groupings and how context shapes an object—just as context shapes a person. I tried to create a group with appealing contrast yet also with repeated shapes. I asked myself: Is repetition boring? Morandi seemed to think it was beautiful, and could be made new with slight alterations. I played with arrangements, and stumbled over what would make an ideal six. This process both thrilled and troubled me.

The box vases, with their multiple windows, and different appearances from different angles, bring in an element of the landscapes which Morandi was also renowned for. These angular forms convey a masculine character distinct from the gentler feminine curves of the handcoiled vessels. The vessels united are stronger and more impactful than the works alone. Each object may appear simple, but is part of a broader considered framework and process.

Instagram: @jojohoban