Ireland-based artist Jennifer Hickey creates incredible ceramic sculptures of spheric blooms and other forms, such as linked rings, composed of hundreds and hundreds of little ceramic petals or leaf and feather-like pieces.
Drawn to the ethereal and delicate properties of porcelain she has developed a unique and intricate approach to making. ‘From thousands of tiny, wafer thin fired porcelain pieces sewn onto tulle I create my sculpture. It is the rituals of making, the physical rhythms, the process, time, slowness and repetition involved that are all very important aspects of my work. To sense but not to recognise is a common thread throughout’. The finely worked porcelain loosely references natural forms, feathers, or leaves and when assembled they possess the aura of a specimen or model flora or fauna. There extreme delicacy makes them seen impossible, but they gain strength and energy from the repetition in their making. The natural properties of porcelain are intrinsic to her completed pieces.
Jennifer Hickey