Minaal Lawn

Jugs presented works by twenty acclaimed Australian and New Zealand artists and makers, all working with ceramics to explore the classic form of the amphora – affectionately known as jugs. From its origins, amphorae were objects of utility, used to transport materials of trade and as highly decorated, ceremonial objects – amphorae speak to the connection between life and art. Throughout history, the amphora has been continually reimagined in the hands of contemporary makers. The works presented in this exhibition consider the ideas and practices of our time, as they have since antiquity. This exhibition coincided with Vessels as part of Melbourne Now, Craft’s curatorial collaboration with the National Gallery of Victoria.

“My husband’s first wife was a jug, a lota (a globular pouring vessel, used in sacred Hindu ritual) actually. As was ordained in our premarital compatibility horoscopes that were obediently gleaned from a pundit (priest) in Mumbai, my juju and my impending husband’s juju was incompatible. To make us compatible and our path of matrimony harmonious, he was to marry an inanimate object (the aforementioned lota) to offload his incompatibility to ‘her’ so to be absolved before marrying me. His first marriage to the lota occurred momentarily before our Hindu wedding ceremony began.” This work evolved from the handless variations of the classical form found in South Asian culture, considering its’ symbolism in Indian sacred ceremony and ritual.