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2025.2:1
Indecorum: Swoon Urn & Pedestal (2025.2:1)
Catalogue Record
Collection
Maker
Ebony Russell
Title
Indecorum: Swoon Urn & Pedestal
Made in
Sydney
Date
2025
Materials and techniques
I work with Lumina Porcelain, a high-quality Australian porcelain produced by Keane Ceramics. Each sculpture begins with porcelain slurry, which I process by hand before loading into piping bags fitted with traditional cake decorating tips. Using this method, I extrude the coloured porcelain—layer by delicate layer—to build the form. The slurry is tinted with ceramic stains prior to piping, allowing me to create rich, vibrant surfaces. Once complete, the pieces are fired to a high stoneware temperature, typically between 1230–1280°C, resulting in durable yet intricate ceramic structures.
The pieces are made completely made by hand.
In my current art practice, the techniques and processes traditionally used in cake decorating have replaced ceramic techniques. The saccharine embellishment and delicate layers are intensified and given permanence with the use of high-fired porcelain. The specially prepared porcelain is slowly piped in layers - building up the curvilinear form. The ornament itself becomes the structure, undermining the intention of decoration's original purpose. Creating sculptures that appear to defy their own making; I embrace the decorative, disrupting the boundaries and hierarchies between high and low, art and craft, structure and decoration. Making in this way feels like magic to me, as if the piece forms itself from my wand-like tool.
The pieces are made completely made by hand.
In my current art practice, the techniques and processes traditionally used in cake decorating have replaced ceramic techniques. The saccharine embellishment and delicate layers are intensified and given permanence with the use of high-fired porcelain. The specially prepared porcelain is slowly piped in layers - building up the curvilinear form. The ornament itself becomes the structure, undermining the intention of decoration's original purpose. Creating sculptures that appear to defy their own making; I embrace the decorative, disrupting the boundaries and hierarchies between high and low, art and craft, structure and decoration. Making in this way feels like magic to me, as if the piece forms itself from my wand-like tool.
Dimensions
length: 74cm
height: 74cm
width: 34cm
Object number
2025.2:1
Credit
Brookfield Properties Craft Award Winner 2025. In partnership with Crafts Council Collection. Purchased with support from Brookfield Properties.
On view
99 Bishopsgate
Maker's statement
This piece was created specifically for Collect in London and draws inspiration from the first work in my Superfluous collection, held in the Powerhouse Museum collection Superfluous, 2021.
An ongoing theme in my practice is the anthropomorphic quality of urns—the way their forms can suggest gesture, posture, or emotion. In this work, I continue to explore that sense of personality and presence. I’m also fascinated by the unique behaviour of porcelain, particularly its ability to soften and melt at high firing temperatures. I use this transformative property to push the material beyond its expected boundaries, allowing fragility and fluidity to become central elements of the finished form.
An ongoing theme in my practice is the anthropomorphic quality of urns—the way their forms can suggest gesture, posture, or emotion. In this work, I continue to explore that sense of personality and presence. I’m also fascinated by the unique behaviour of porcelain, particularly its ability to soften and melt at high firing temperatures. I use this transformative property to push the material beyond its expected boundaries, allowing fragility and fluidity to become central elements of the finished form.