Amber McKenzie - BA (Hons) Fine Art
Auralithic Ware
Since antiquity, clay has been used to craft objects beyond the needs of daily life, allowing practical objects to take on symbolic forms. The distinctive forms of Auralithic ware – ‘aural’ relating to the ear and ‘lithic’ to the earth – bear human ears that dribble, whistle and bleed. These vessels may have held wine and encouraged curious social interaction through their hidden, ambiguous functionalities. Today they hold stories from this past civilisation that honoured playful interaction as their anthropomorphic characters stand silently listening in.